Oxigen: Nurturing the Mobile Payment Ecosystem in India

In 2013, Oxigen Services India Pvt. Ltd. launched a money transfer service integrated with the infrastructure of the National Payment Corporation of India. The Oxigen Wallet, India’s first non-bank wallet, allowed instant money transfers to and from any bank account over an extensive ecosystem, with a large retail presence across India using point-of-sale terminals. Oxigen was a major provider of bill payment and merchant payment services, with complete interoperability between mobile wallets and bank accounts. But newer mobile wallet players were focused on alternative strategies, and were showing rapid growth in the number of subscribers thanks to innovative services, extensive sales promotions, and varied marketing initiatives. Oxigen wanted to be sure that it was using the capabilities of the ecosystem effectively within the context of changing market dynamics. Should Oxigen continue to invest significantly in ecosystem development, as it had been doing, or focus instead on a sales-and-promotion-driven growth strategy? In the changing market, what were Oxigen’s best options for success?