Upasana Taku, co-founder, Mobikwik
Why did the net loss become bigger all year round?
We cannot compare Q1FY26 numbers with those of the first quarter of the previous fiscal because we stated that H2FY25 was extremely bad because of sentiment with regard to uncovered lending. That automatically means that Q1 FY25 was the best quarter, because there was no headwind on the credit side of the company. I think that what investors are more interested is recovery. To see the recovery, we must compare the business parameters with those of the last quarter. Last quarter our EBITDA loss RS 45 Crore, which was reduced to £ 31 crore in Q1. Our Qoq Ebitda stood up with around £ 14.5 Crore. If we demonstrate a similar improvement, we must even be able to break in Q3 or Q4. We have seen considerable growth in the GMV of our payment activities (gross merchandise value), and we have also improved our margins in this segment. We have optimized all our direct costs.
What encourages the increase in operational income?
We have increased the payments in the financial services segment in the past two quarters by 30 percent or more. This reflects the recovery in the credit segment. Turnover in the financial services segment has risen and the margin has also improved to 13.3 percent in Q1FY26 of 4.3 percent. Again, it is not back to the normal reach of 30-40 percent, but it goes in the direction of that direction. Against Q3 we have to start by seeing the credit business margin back to its normal reach. On the payment side, last quarter, our margin was 23.9 percent, which we have now grown to 27.9 percent. We consistently show strong growth in our payment activities, with GMV with 16 percent quarterly-on-quarter and 53 percent on an annual basis.
Are you planning to restart the BNPL activities?
It is completely paused because no lender is interested in that company because of the developments of the regulations. It’s not just us; Other payment companies cannot now register growth in the Koopnor, pay later companies.
Have the new FLDG guidelines had a major impact on business?
It has. Since August-September last year we have transferred all our contracts with lenders to a First-Loss, standard guarantee model of 5 percent. Currently, half of our company are under this contract and half are under another contract. We expect things to normal this year, because all our income and costs are booked under the same model. The problem with the current model is that the costs are higher in advance and that the income in the back is generated. That is also the reason for a slightly lower turnover in financial services, and after September this year it will start with normalization. To be clear, the margins we make are still the same; It’s just a temporary accounting change.
There was a slower pace of growth at the acquisition of the merchant in the first quarter …
Yes, the growth has been weak in this area, because this company is strongly linked to the street feet. There were some problems. That aside, Q1 has usually been a slower quarter for us. From Q2 to Q4 we register a solid growth in the acquisition of customers.
What are the newer products in the pipeline?
We remain Bullish on our Pocket Upi product, with which people can use our app to scan and pay on every QR code, regardless of who used UPI. This product is growing rapidly, in accordance with our overall UPI growth. We have just launched the Rupay credit card and it is one of the growth areas for us. Separately we try to perform Zakpay, our payment aggregator and payment gateway business. We see a huge growth potential there and try to strengthen that team. There are also numerous AI initiatives aimed at improving the customer experience, collections and AI-assisted coding for engineers.
Published on August 8, 2025
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