Flipkart Payment Gateway Services Pvt. Ltd. is applying to launch a semi-closed prepaid wallet for consumers through their online payment solutions, Payzippy which was launched today.
Speaking to Medianama, Mekin Maheshwari, Head of Payments & Digital Media at Flipkart said that they are in the process of getting a license for the semi-closed wallet from the Reserve Bank of India, however he did not disclose the exact date of the launch. Although, the semi-wallet can be launched in partnership, Flipkart intends to launch this service by securing an independent license from RBI. The service will be free to consumer, adds Maheshwari.
With this semi-closed wallet service, consumers will be able to deposit money into their pre-paid account, and use it for purchasing goods from multiple vendors. via their PayZippy account.
As mentioned earlier, it appears that Flipkart wants to give seamless payment transaction service to its customers. Having a semi-closed wallet will eliminate the high payment gateway transaction failure rates.
Other prepaid wallets: In May 2013, TLabs incubated VA Tech Ventures Pvt Ltd. had launched a semi-closed prepaid, mobile wallet, Happay that syncs with mobile number and SIM card to allow P2P and B2C transactions.
In March 2013, Y-Cash Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of eMudhra Consumer Services Ltd, had partnered with Karur Vysya Bank to launch YPayCash, a prepaid mobile wallet and payment service.
In February 2013, Mobile payments platform, Beam Money, had partnered with MasterCard Worldwide to launch a prepaid card that will allow Beam’s mobile wallet users to transact at ATMs, physical merchants and online shops.
In October 2012, iKaaz, a Bangalore-based mobile payments solution provider, founded by ex-Nokia Money team, had launched two new mobile payment platforms for enterprises and consumers — iKaaz Consumer Wallet for Enterprise and iKaaz mPOS.
Corrigendum: This article previously, incorrectly, mentioned that the semi-closed prepaid wallet allows users to store card information. A semi-closed wallet allows users to store cash in their prepaid account, and use it to purchase services from multiple vendors. The error is regretted.