One MobiKwik Systems, an India-based digital wallet and fintech platform, has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a non-banking financial company licence, enabling it to establish a dedicated lending arm, named MobiKwik Financial Services.
Lending operations will commence after the company receives a certificate of registration from the central bank upon fulfilment of specified conditions.
The NBFC licence will allow MobiKwik to offer secured and unsecured loans to consumers and small businesses, with a stated focus on underserved market segments. The company said bringing credit operations in-house will enable faster product rollouts and improve margins compared to its current model of distributing third-party financial products.
Strategic context and market positioning
MobiKwik operates a digital payments and wallet platform and has expanded its product suite to include the distribution of credit and investment products. The NBFC licence marks a transition from distribution to direct origination, giving the company full control over its credit underwriting, product design, and lending economics.
The move follows a pattern seen among Indian fintech platforms seeking to deepen their financial services offerings by obtaining direct regulatory standing for lending, rather than relying on partnership arrangements with banks or NBFCs. For MobiKwik, which has an existing user base across digital payments, the ability to originate credit directly to its users represents a significant expansion of its addressable revenue opportunity. Shares of One MobiKwik Systems rose 14% following the announcement on 27 April 2026.
Back in September 2024, MobiKwik's payment gateway arm, ZaakPay, integrated Meta to offer payments on WhatsApp. The move sought to provide businesses and consumers with access to several payment options, including credit and debit cards, UPI, and digital wallets. Users were set to be able to conduct transactions utilising MobiKwik Wallet, ZIP, and Pocket UPI, benefiting from scaled flexibility and services that meet their payment preferences and needs.
