With Demonetization, e-wallets have gained popularity and they are a part of every buying and selling deals. The efforts made to digitalize the country are moving in the right direction with people from all sections of the society using simple smartphones and connected wallets. The increase in the number of users has also lead to the increase in the services. There are now many numbers of wallets that are available for use. The latest name in the race is Whatsapp wallet. The app owners are now aware that they need to ensure that they provide the e-wallet facility for them to keep the hold of the market. Since it is an easy and convenient way of making payments they are liked by many. The fact that they were the only source of support during the harsh days of the cashless situation in the country the users even who are not fully convinced are still keeping them active in one corner just to be prepared.
The wallets that are available right now vary from each other with small differences which become huge when it comes to user’s needs and expectations. We will be focusing on the major leaders in the market for analyses.
The e-wallets are majorly analyzed in the following features:
1. UPI Support: A step ahead of the IMPS system that has been used in internet banking, UPI support allows the app to make direct payments from one account to the other in real-time without lapse. This is an important feature when it comes to e-wallet as they allow the payments quickly. The apps that we are talking about all comes with a UPI support and the fact that the ease of use is becoming popular they must step up the game and become ready for the change. As new apps enter the market they must be ready for phenomenal changes to ensure that their customer base does not go out. Paytm seems to have captured the market with about 40% overall users supporting it for the service over others.
2. Offers on all categories: There should be some benefit for using the app over others and thus the best marketing strategy is to allow users cashback benefits or discounts so that they choose this platform over others. Tez is providing a signing up bonus for new users which is Rs 51 cash back. Paytm has no dearth of offers on all the categories it deals in right from the movie bookings to recharges it provides some perks to its users. Primarily a recharge site Mobiwik and Freecharge offers great discounts on recharges(Phone, Tatasky, DTH etc) You can use mobile recharge offers and enjoy great benefits on them. The leader, however, would be paytm as it allows offers on the maximum categories.
3. Money Transfer: The main aim of an e-wallet is to provide ease of money transfer. All these wallets ensure an easy payment method with least hassle. They allow a quick scan of QR codes or the use of account details to get the job done. The users have their own personal preferences amongst them all but the popular amongst them all is Tez when it comes to only money transfer and no other feature is being analyzed.
4. Bill Payment: The user wants to ensure that they skip the long lines at any service provider and thus these apps come in handy. The bill payments for the facilities like electricity bill, telephone bill etc can easily be done using these apps. The best amongst the above-mentioned apps would be Freecharge which is primarily a recharge app which has evolved to provide other facilities. It connects to all government and private services using your bill account numbers.
5. Gift Cards: The best way to allow people to receive gifts is by giving them a gift card. This allows them to be in charge of what they buy and also eases you. When it comes to gift card the best name amongst the list would be paytm as it has number of places where the card could be used. The gift cards are not available for general with Mobiwik and you have to be specific with the online stores when using the app which limits the choices.
6. Online ticket Bookings: You can make all bookings using any of these platforms. With the separate category for bus, flight, train bookings paytm take the votes here. It also allows easy booking for movies and hotels which makes it a preferred choice. With other choices, you come back to the wallet for payment but Paytm allows booking using the app itself which makes it so much more convenient.
7. Online shopping: when you are thinking about shopping online you can any of the payments options. The ease of payments are available to them all, the leader, whoever would be paytm with almost all online shopping platforms accepting the payments. With Mobiwik and freecharge there are limited online platforms that have listed them as a preferred payment option and thus they lose in the deal. Tez is coming up and is being added to the list of many such sites but it will take some more time for it to rule the market.
The fact that all these e-wallets are making efforts to provide service cannot be denied. It then comes to the fact that what are you planning to use these apps for, as they all have their strong base and features. When it comes to recharging and bill payments then freecharge and Mobikwik has a greater service since they were launched primarily for the purpose. Paytm has been the leader in the existence longer than most of them. What makes Paytm better in many situations is that it has evolved with time and made all efforts to ensure that the customers get what they want. It was because of this situation that most of the users shifted to Paytm during the days of demonetizations. With tez, it is steady and strong yet comparatively new and will take some time to establish itself in the market.
About The Author
Nikhil Rana
I work as a content writer for collegedunia, who loves to play football.
