Joining the Digital India bandwagon, state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) unveiled a mobile wallet in partnership with Digital Payments startup MobiKwik. According to a report in the Economic Times, with the mobile wallet, BSNL wants to enable one-tap bill payment for its over 100 million subscribers.
All subscribers of BSNL will be able to use the digital wallet at more than 1.5 million merchants across India.
The digital wallet has been developed by MobiKwik for BSNL and as per a statement by the telecom operator, it is in line with its intent to take the reach of digital payments to semi-urban and rural India.
The BSNL mobile wallet will let users recharge online, make bill payments, book a bus or a train ticket and even shop on the app.
At the launch of the digital wallet, telecom minister Manoj Sinha said, “With the co-branded wallet, the ease of payment will be extended to all the customers while equally strengthening financial inclusion in the rural hinterlands, which often get neglected.”
The partnership, BSNL Chairman Anupam Srivastava says, will provide all of its 100 million customers to transact seamlessly and conveniently and make mobile and other financial payments through the co-branded MobiKwik wallet.
"Through this strategic partnership between BSNL and MobiKwik, we are taking another important milestone in achieving our Prime Minister Modi's vision of enabling and making India a less-cash society based on the grand vision of digital India", Srivastava added.
This, according to BSNL, is the largest wallet in the country by any telecom company with over 1.5 million merchants on its network.
The wallet will work on both smartphone and feature phones.
“The alliance with BSNL will empower masses in India with access to dependable internet connectivity and digital payments,” Bipin Preet Singh, founder and CEO of MobiKwik told ET.