India’s top taxi app makes a power move with launch of online payments app

India’s top ride-hailing app Ola announced today that its ride payment wallet, Ola Money, is now available as a standalone app. The wallet already has over 40 million users.

Ola Money can be used both for rides and at specific online shopping sites. This includes mobile credit top-ups and money transfers. In a press statement, Ola explained that the wallet would also soon open up to allow utility bill payments and integration with offline stores.

The move resembles how China’s Alibaba spun off its mobile wallet app in 2013 after first gaining traction among users of its Taobao marketplace.

Earlier this week, during a trip to promote Apple’s Apple Pay wallet, CEO Tim Cook explained to a group of students at Trinity College Dublin that the future of cash was dead. “Your kids will not know what money is,” he said. While the statement may seem exaggerated, it’s never been more possible than now.

According to research firm RNCOS, the mobile wallet market in India is estimated to rise to INR 12.1 billion (US$182,945,345) by 2019. Alibaba-backed Paytm claims 20 million active users, which is more than the total number of credit card users in India.

In the US, mobile payments make up 14 percent of transactions, but account for 21 percent of fraud cases. Because data is captured and compressed so easily on these payment wallets, it can be a goldmine for those who get access to it. Although we have yet to come across a fraudless form of payment, it will be important for mobile wallets to focus on security in order to maintain the trust of their customers.

Is cash dead or is it too soon to say?