Digital payments services are now live on India’s Microsoft Kaizala. By integrating the payment and both organizations’ mobile payment infrastructure services of Yes Bank and MobiKwik, Microsoft Kaizala users may swiftly send or receive money without having to leave the Kaizala mobile app. With Microsoft Kaizala, users will also have the option to make P2P payments in one to one and group chat conversations via the MobiKwik wallet and via Yes Bank’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) integration.
“When we launched Microsoft Kaizala for India in July 2017, we provided consumers as well as businesses with a secure chat platform to collaborate and be productive, on the go. Microsoft Kaizala is used by thousands of organisations across different industry verticals for their day-to-day workflows today and is growing. Payment transactions within the app was a key demand from our users for getting work done and we are happy to offer it today in collaboration with YES Bank and MobiKwik,” shared Microsoft Office Product Group Corporate VP Rajiv Kumar.
Microsoft Kaizala, a free mobile-only product available on Android, iOS and Windows is designed for large group communications and work management, aims to enable organizations to take business workflows to its Firstline workforce. With the introduction of this feature, organisations will now be able to disburse micro-payments, enable bill expense reimbursements, and pay travel allowances on the go to its mobile workforce. YES BANK, reportedly India’s fourth largest private sector Bank with a pan India presence across all 29 states and 7 Union Territories of India, was founded by Rana Kapoor. In March, Mumbai-based bank was named the Fastest Growing Mid-sized Bank category at the Business Today Best Bank’s Awards held in association with KPMG in Mumbai.
“Yes Bank has been a pioneer in UPI and we have emerged as a leader in the UPI ecosystem by leveraging our strategic partnerships, as well as the Bank’s first-of-its-kind API banking solution,” stated YES Bank Chief Digital Officer Ritesh Pai. “We are glad to collaborate with Microsoft Kaizala and bring seamless payments to businesses and users by employing our state-of-the-art UPI Platform. The addition of payments makes Microsoft Kaizala an even more compelling platform for collaboration.”
The UPI payment integration on Microsoft Kaizala works with all 86 banks that are already participating in UPI. Microsoft Kaizala is also aimed at making the Firstline workforce more productive and helping them communicate in real time. There are nearly 1.9 billion such workers worldwide, and a large portion of this workforce is based out of India.
“We see an opportunity for technology to give Firstline workers more intuitive, immersive, and empowering experiences – and thereby help organisations achieve greater efficiency, enhance their customers’ experience, and increase both innovation and employee satisfaction,” explained Microsoft Office Product Group Executive VP Rajesh Jha. “Office 365, including Microsoft Kaizala, Microsoft Teams and Outlook, aims to connect this mobile-first and mobile-only workforce for modern collaboration and teamwork.”
According to other news sources, Sequoia-funded Mobikwik Chief Business officer Vineet Singh resigned from the company in March, ahead of the Microsoft deal, and will move on from MobiKwik in April.
