Instant money transfers through mobile wallets have gained a high traction throughout the festive week Diwali, Dhanteras and Bhai Dooj. The festive week throughout Diwali, Dhanteras and Bhai Dooj this month saw three to four times jump in peer-to-peer payments through digital wallets.

‘Shaguns’ (Gifts) also going through digital way

As online instalments move toward becoming standard in India, ‘shaguns’ (Gifts) are additionally going the digital way and designer envelopes are clearing a path for custom electronic messages.

“We registered 40 million peer-to-peer transactions during the Diwali week, including Paytm Lifafa, which is the highest ever,” said Kiran Vasireddy, chief operating officer of Paytm.

MobiKwik Reports Increase in Peer-to-peer Transactions 

MobiKwik has reported a 300% jump in peer-to-peer transactions during this festive season as compared to last years. The mobile wallet even branded its money transfer option in its application as ‘Shagun’.

Just like MobiKwik, PhonePe has also registered a jump of 25 times in payment volume so far this financial year over 2016-17.

Mobile Wallets Becomes more convenient for Consumers

With the creation of multiple use-cases for mobile wallets, consumers are finding it more convenient to use these for buying movie tickets, paying bills and shopping online.

In China, around 46 billion electronic red packets (digital versions of envelopes stuffed with cash) were sent on WeChat during the previous Chinese New Year celebrations. India is way behind in volume terms but could catch up, say industry experts.