Yu Televentures, the Micromax subsidiary churning out high-end Android smartphones, is now looking to launch its own mobile digital wallet service, reports LiveMint. It is also said that the company will partner with a third-party payment firm to do so.
Along with the launch of its latest smartphone – Yutopia, the company also announced a suite of bundled services and software. Yu will make a strategic investment in a payment firm for its wallet service and the deal is expected to close as early as this month itself.
It will be interesting to see if the company’s wallet service will be adopted by the users, given that the mobile wallet segment already has heavily-funded players in the form of PayTM, FreeCharge, Oxigen Wallet, Mobikwik, etc.
By entering into other segments, the company is aiming to diversify its business for higher margins and new revenue streams. In the first phase of its services platform, it will offer services in travel, food, and shopping and has partnered with Zomato, Ixigo and Scandid.
In the next phase, the company is expected to launch other new services, including recharges and healthcare related services. It is looking to invest in around 4-5 companies in this segment within 12-15 months to boost its business.
Micromax has already made investments in five startups, which include Scandid, Gaana, MiMedia, HealthifyMe, and Ixigo. While it already announced its new services in partnership with Scandid and Ixigo, other services from companies like Gaana, a music streaming service; MiMedia, online cloud storage service; and HealthifyMe, a fitness service, will roll out soon.
Yu will also be partnering with independent service providers also. In order to generate revenues, the company will be charging a commission on each transaction happening on these platforms.
Rahul Sharma, co-founder, Micromax, said,
All the services will be deeply integrated and stitched with one payments system. We believe that the whole app world is going to go away. How many apps are you going to keep in your phone? With Around Yu one does not need to install separate apps. We are poised to disrupt the services play with the current offering. It is very similar to what WeChat has done in China.
In the first year of its operation, Yu Televentures is claims to have sold around two million devices and is targeting 300 percent growth next year.
Gurgaon-based Micromax was founded in 2008 and is currently present in international markets, including, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Russia. The company is looking to expand its presence to Africa, West Asia and other parts of Asia.
