Micromax to launch mobile wallet soon
Yu Televentures, which is owned by Micromax, is close to launching its own mobile wallet by striking a partnership with a payments firm
New Delhi: Yu Televentures, which is owned by smartphone maker Micromax, is close to launching its own mobile wallet by striking a partnership with a payments firm. This will enable people to buy a wide range of services on its platform.
Yu, which on Thursday announced its entry into software services with the launch of Around Yu—a suite of services bundled into its new smartphone Yutopia—said it is eyeing a strategic investment in a payments company. The deal is expected within a month.
“All these services will be deeply integrated and stitched with one payments system,” said Rahul Sharma, co-founder, Micromax.
The company has been diversifying its business to include high-margin software, services and creating new revenue streams.
Yu, which has been working on its services platform for nearly a year now, in the first phase offers services in travel (local cabs, flights, hotels), food, shopping and will add up more categories going forward. These services are being rolled out in partnership with food ordering platform Zomato, price comparison travel site Ixigo and price comparison shopping portal Scandid.
It expects to launch recharges and healthcare as the next categories, said Sharma. “You will see us investing in more companies and then integrate them in our services platform,” he added.
The company is looking to make at least four to five new investments in start-ups in healthcare and payments companies in the next 12-15 months to boost the services play.
“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,” said Sharma.
“We are poised to disrupt the services play with the current offering. It is very similar to what WeChat has done in China,” he added.
As a part of its strategy to build an integrated mobile ecosystem, Yu Televentures’ parent Micromax has invested in five start-ups in the last six months. In October, it made strategic investments in Scandid, run by Wishpoint Inc, and in Gaana, an online music streaming service operated by Times Internet Ltd; in August, it picked up a stake in MiMedia Inc, a cloud service provider; in May, it bought into digital fitness app HealthifyMe (Caeruz Ventures Pvt. Ltd); and in Ixigo (Le Travenues Technology Pvt. Ltd), a mobile travel search firm, in June.
Around Yu is largely powered by the same companies. However, going forward Yu Televentures expects to tie up with independent service providers as well. It plans to make money by charging a commission on every transaction that happens via its platform.
“Commissions won’t kick in immediately,” Sharma added.
But he expects services to be a major source of revenue for the company in the next five years. “Our vision is that we want to make more money from services in the next five years rather than make money from hardware.”
After working on it for nearly a year, Yu launched Yutopia, the fourth smartphone in the Yu series, which is being positioned as the firm’s flagship phone.
The firm has sold close to two million devices during in its first year of operations and expects to grow by 300% next year.
Yutopia, a 4G phone with Cyanogen operating system 12.1, a 5.2-inch display screen, 64 bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 21 megapixel rear camera and 4 GB RAM, will be available for ₹ 24,999 on Amazon.in, the company said. Shipping for Yutopia begins on 26 December.
Gurgaon-based Micromax was started in 2008 and sells its products in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Russia, among its international markets. The company is looking to expand its presence to markets such as Africa, West Asia and some other parts of Asia.
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First Published:18 Dec 2015, 02:09 PM IST
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