MobiKwik merchant revenue rises 150% as payments stay flat

MobiKwik’s merchant payments revenue rose 150% year on year in Q2 FY27, while total payments revenue was flat at Rs 208.8 crore. Merchant gross merchandise value, or GMV, increased 76% to Rs 13,300 crore, raising merchant flows to 22% of platform GMV from 17% a year earlier.

Why did MobiKwik’s merchant payments grow faster than its platform?

MobiKwik’s merchant payments revenue grew 150% year on year and 29% quarter on quarter in Q2 FY27, ahead of management’s stated 25% quarterly aspiration. Merchant GMV reached Rs 13,300 crore, up 76% year on year and 18% from Q1 FY27, compared with 35% year-on-year growth in total platform GMV to Rs 59,700 crore.

Merchant activity became a larger part of MobiKwik’s payments mix in Q2 FY27. Merchant GMV represented 22% of platform GMV, against 17% in Q2 FY26, while consumer GMV rose 27% year on year to Rs 46,400 crore. Consumer flows remained larger than merchant flows in absolute value, but merchant GMV grew at almost three times the consumer rate.

MobiKwik said merchant revenue and contribution each rose about 150%, roughly twice the rate of merchant GMV growth. Its merchant operations include offline payment aggregation and Zaakpay, its online payment gateway. Management said electronic data capture, or EDC, terminals and Soundbox deployments can add card transactions and device-rental revenue, while Zaakpay is being competitively priced to build merchant share.

Why was MobiKwik’s overall payments revenue flat?

MobiKwik’s payments revenue was flat year on year at Rs 208.8 crore in Q2 FY27, despite growth in platform activity and merchant revenue. The presentation does not disclose separate absolute revenue figures for consumer and merchant payments, so it does not quantify which consumer-payment lines offset the merchant increase.

Platform GMV nevertheless reached a 15th consecutive quarterly record of Rs 59,700 crore in Q2 FY27, including Zaakpay. Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, GMV rose 42% year on year to Rs 24,700 crore; prepaid payment instrument, or PPI, wallet GMV increased 20% to Rs 12,400 crore; and recharge and bill-payment GMV grew 21% to Rs 9,400 crore.

UPI GMV declined sequentially from Rs 26,900 crore in Q1 FY27 to Rs 24,700 crore in Q2 FY27. Management attributed the change to a seasonally softer UPI quarter across the industry and a later festive season that shifted spending into Q3. It also said it focused on higher-quality users and merchant-facing flows that could earn revenue if UPI merchant discount rate, or MDR, is implemented for eligible transactions.

UPI transactions rose 52% year on year to 210 million in Q2 FY27, while wallet transactions rose 43% to 109 million. MobiKwik’s blended net payments margin was 13 basis points, or bps, of platform spend GMV, compared with 14 bps in Q2 FY26 and within management’s stated 12-15 bps guidance range.

How did MobiKwik improve payments profitability in Q2 FY27?

MobiKwik increased payments gross profit 30% year on year to Rs 79.8 crore in Q2 FY27, even though payments revenue remained Rs 208.8 crore. Payments gross margin increased 884 bps to 38.2% from 29.4% in Q2 FY26, which MobiKwik attributed to a 13% year-on-year fall in payment-related direct costs.

Both disclosed payments segments improved their sequential unit economics. Net consumer payments margin rose 0.4 bps from Q1 FY27 to 16.2 bps, while net merchant payments margin increased by about 1 bp to 3.4 bps. Management said the merchant level reflected zero-MDR UPI in a large share of offline volume and the pass-through of part of card MDR to networks and banks.

The payments result contributed to company-wide profit growth in Q2 FY27. Contribution profit rose 50% year on year to Rs 143.9 crore, representing a 47.5% contribution margin, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, was Rs 22.7 crore. Profit after tax was Rs 11.8 crore, compared with a Rs 28.6 crore loss in Q2 FY26.

Direct costs fell 13% year on year while platform GMV increased 35% and lending disbursals increased 34% in Q2 FY27. That period comparison shows that the higher payments gross profit occurred alongside greater platform volume and lower direct costs, rather than growth in reported payments revenue.

What is MobiKwik’s merchant payments plan?

MobiKwik plans to grow payments revenue through merchant-payment scale-up, selected card-based categories with guardrails, and MDR on eligible UPI transactions if implemented. Management continues to expect the merchant business to break even by FY28, with the merchant base also intended to distribute merchant lending and value-added services.

MobiKwik said a larger EDC and Soundbox installed base should generate more card transactions and device-rental revenue. For Zaakpay, management said it is pricing competitively to gain share and expects margins to expand as it reaches its merchant-base target. The presentation does not disclose that merchant-base target or a timetable for Zaakpay margin expansion.

The UPI and Services Steering Committee approved MDR of 0.4% on selected person-to-merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, capped at Rs 300 per transaction. Person-to-person transfers, payments up to Rs 2,000 and small merchants are exempt. NPCI deferred implementation from 15 October 2026 until immediately after Diwali, on a date yet to be notified.

MobiKwik said UPI MDR could improve economics in its role as a UPI third-party application provider and through its offline payment-aggregator and Zaakpay businesses. The financial effect remains unresolved because the implementation date and MobiKwik’s share of eligible transaction volume were not disclosed.

Conclusion

MobiKwik’s Q2 FY27 figures show merchant payments becoming a larger part of its payments mix: merchant GMV rose 76% to Rs 13,300 crore and merchant revenue rose 150%, while overall payments revenue stayed at Rs 208.8 crore. Payments gross profit increased 30% to Rs 79.8 crore as payment-related direct costs declined 13%, lifting gross margin to 38.2%.

The next disclosures to watch are whether merchant GMV continues to outpace consumer GMV, whether EDC, Soundbox and Zaakpay expansion changes merchant margins, and whether NPCI notifies the deferred UPI MDR implementation. Management’s stated milestones include merchant-business break-even by FY28 and full-year FY27 profit after tax guidance of Rs 40 crore.