Mobile-wallet companies like Paytm, Freecharge and MobiKwik are on an advertising offensive since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced cancelling existing Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes as legal tender. From paanwala to big-shots, all know what these digital wallets are like. However, despite all the chances the government has indirectly bestowed upon them, they are still far from becoming big brands even with a surge in their ad spends.
Why? The story goes back to the markets of rural India, where majority of people might know the names of the e-wallets, but do not know how to use it. Reason being the long standing infrastructural backwardness: Excessive basic or feature phones, on which these apps can’t thrive or survive.
While 27.5 million smartphone units were shipped in Q1 this year, there were 33.7 million feature phones shipped in the same period, technology research and consulting firm International Data Corporation (IDC) said in a report. Feature phone shipments grew 2.6% in the quarter over a higher base number, while smartphones grew marginally by 3.7% compared to last year, IDC data showed.
In fact, smartphone sales in 2016 are expected to drop sharply in 2016 compared to the previous year, say research companies such as IDC, CMR and Counterpoint Research. While it accounted for 40% of total phone sales in India last year, it has now grown to 59%. The majority of people in smaller towns and rural areas cannot afford to buy smartphones and feel only a little need of it.
Despite majority of Indians using feature phones, digital wallets such as Paytm, MobiKwik and Freecharge have not yet created a platform for them. While Paytm and Freecharge responded with a silence to this query,a MobiKwik spokesperson said, “We are looking at developing solutions for feature phone category, as we are committed to serve masses at large in India. Very soon, you will hear from us on developments in this area.”
Digital wallets provided by these companies work only on smartphones or computers. CMR data showed that India will witness mobile shipments to the tune of 265 million by the year end, of which 116 million would be smartphones. This means that a massive 149 million phones will be feature phones that cannot use app services as we know of.
The one and only working to create a mobile wallet for feature phone users currently is State Bank of India (SBI) which announced in November last year that it will launch ‘Batua’ in 13 languages.
Digital wallet-companies, while jumping on the bandwagon to get mileage from demonetisation, are only focusing on growing their business, but are they really working to bring technology closer to the masses?
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