FINO Paytech acquires Nokia Mobile Payment Services in India

India's leading fintech firm FINO which made mark in year 2018 with almost Rs 2000 crore valuation has recently acquired Nokia's payment services in India. FINO also has banking license in India and plans to an IPO in 2021.

With this acquisition, FINO having achieved significant scale in banking services, would be entering into the vast prepaid mobile payments space. In order to provide a smooth and quality service to its customers and maintain the dynamics of customer centric prepaid business, the new entity Alpha Payment Services India Private Limited (Alpha) (erstwhile Nokia Mobile Payment Services) would be operating as an independent company.

The new entity will wholly focus on prepaid payment services and will offer services such as money transfers, utility bill payments, mobile & DTH recharges etc under the brand Takatak Money. This service would be bank and telecom operator agnostic and would aim to cater to the requirement of both urban and rural customers.

It is estimated that more than 65% of all retail transactions in India are conducted in cash (ASSOCHAM-Deloitte August 2011 Report). This presents a huge opportunity for digital payment systems, the mobile channel being the most promising. There is huge faith being put on leveraging the large mobile penetration to tap this potential, currently estimated at 920 million subscribers in India. The rural market contributes to a considerable 35% of the total mobile subscribers in India.

Nokia Money customers to continue to enjoy mobile money by transferring to Takatak Money accounts in the near future. FINO currently services 50 mn customers across host of banking products and services and is very deep rooted in India covering over 50,000 villages. FINO has extensive experience of developing the right customer proposition and achieving scale in field and central operations, both critical for success in this market.

Studies suggest money transfer and airtime top-ups will account for most of the volume of prepaid mobile payments. Money transfers will account for the largest portion of the transaction value because of the demand for secure and efficient ways of storing and transferring money.

Source - Press Release.