Betting big on m-commerce: Flipkart invests in ngpay, shuts down Payzippy

In a bid to take on rivals Snapdeal and Amazon, India’s largest e-commerce player Flipkart has made a strategic investment in mobile payment company ngpay, which is owned by Bangalore-based JiGrahak Mobility Solutions Pvt Ltd, MediaNama reported today . Flipkart is also shutting down its payment gateway business Payzippy, the report said.

The move is part of Flipkart’s strategy to focus on m-commerceto drive its growth.

“Payment is core to Flipkart and we see this partnership giving rise to the largest mobile payments brand in India. Sourabh Jain’s (founder of ngpay) expertise will help us drive innovation in payments, with features and products that provide a competitive end-to-end customer experience, to redefine the payments ecosystem in India,” Flipkart said in a statement.

Ngpay allows users to book flight, train, and bus tickets, top-up mobile phones and subscribe to satellite television, and shop online through mobiles as more and more consumers in India are using their smartphones to shop, mobile banking and online payments are hotbeds for innovation.

According to a report in the_Mint_, PayZippy, which was launched by Flipkart last year, is being shut down since it failed to sell the service to as many customers as the company had expected.

Payzippy allows e-commerce merchants to accept payments from all credit and debit cards as well as net banking options and companies like Babyoye, Bluestone, Lenskart, Makemytrip, Yepme, Zansaar etc. are using its services.

Medianama had reported earlier that Payzippy name is missing from the RBI’s updated list of companies that had been granted prepaid wallet licence, which was the final nail in the coffin.

Flipkart has, however, clarified that even though it is planning on phasing out phase out PayZippy, nothing changes for its customers, who will continue to enjoy all the benefits of a safe and secure payment system through Flipkart.