E-Wallets Like Paytm, MobiKwik Will Soon be Used Like Prepaid Cards

The e-wallet prepaid cards will be similar to debit cards with a 16-digit unique number along with an expiry date and a CVV number.

New Delhi, November 15: E-wallet firms like Paytm and MobiKwik have joined hands with banks to make digital transactions easier for customers by rolling out a new service- prepaid cards. The prepaid cards will now help users to use the e-wallet money across multiple platforms. As per reports, the easiest way is to offer customers a prepaid card that runs on a Visa or MasterCard platform as almost all online merchants accept these cards. The reason why e-wallet companies have to partner with banks is that e-wallet companies can’t independently offer Visa or MasterCard prepaid cards to customers. As of now, RBL Bank Ltd and IDFC Bank Ltd are providing prepaid cards linked to The Mobile Wallet and Mobikwik e-wallets, respectively.

Earlier this month, IDFC Bank, MobiKwik, and Net1 partnered to launch a co-branded virtual prepaid card on the Visa platform to customers of MobiKwik. Around 65 million users of the MobiKwik wallet will gain access to an IDFC Bank virtual card embedded within the app to make digital purchases easier and faster.

The e-wallet prepaid cards will be similar to debit cards with a 16-digit unique number along with an expiry date and a CVV number and will usually run on Visa or Mastercard platform that is issued by partner banks. As per reports by Mint, to make an online payment using your virtual prepaid card, you have to go to the debit card payment option on the website where you want to do a transaction. The customer will then be needed to enter the 16-digit card number, expiry date, CVV number and your PIN for the transaction to be complete.

You can use these cards wherever Visa or MasterCard are accepted. The card’s transaction limit is the same as your e-wallet, as the card is a replica of your e-wallet. This service is provided free of charge and can only be used for domestic transactions. Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued new guidelines where it mentioned that wallets will become interoperable soon. At present, interoperability between e-wallets is not allowed which means a transaction between two different wallets is not allowed. E-commerce companies such as Flipkart and Amazon too do not accept payments from other e-wallets such as Paytm and Mobikwik. But once prepaid cards are made available, a user will be able to transact on these platforms using the money held in your e-wallet.