Mobikwik, a prominent player in India’s fintech space, reported a sharp widening of its net loss in the fourth quarter of FY25. The company posted a net loss of ₹56.03 crore in Q4 FY25, a steep rise from the marginal ₹67 lakh loss it recorded in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. Mobikwik’s core payments business continued to show modest growth, but it failed to counterbalance the rising operational costs and a notable deceleration in its credit distribution segment.
Mobikwik has spent the last few years transforming itself from a mobile wallet provider into a multi-pronged digital financial services platform. The company has invested in building credit products, insurance distribution, and wealth management services alongside its core payments offerings. However, the latest quarterly results signal financial headwinds and executional bottlenecks that the company must address.
Revenue Growth Flatlines Amid Operational Strain
During the quarter ended March 2025, Mobikwik’s revenue from operations stood at ₹267.78 crore. This figure marked a marginal year-on-year growth of just 1.1% from ₹264.98 crore in Q4 FY24. Such subdued growth raised concerns, especially considering that the company operates in a sector known for fast-paced expansion.
Mobikwik’s revenue stagnation stemmed largely from the slowdown in the company’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and credit distribution business. While consumer interest in credit remained strong, tightening regulatory scrutiny and higher default risk led the company to moderate its credit disbursals. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of India’s growing oversight on digital lending practices contributed to a cautious approach by Mobikwik and its lending partners.
Meanwhile, the payments segment — a legacy pillar for Mobikwik — continued to contribute to topline numbers, but its growth rate failed to deliver meaningful support in an environment of rising costs. Payment processing remains a low-margin activity, and companies in this space must either scale rapidly or extract value from adjacent financial services to boost profitability.
Expenses Surge, Squeezing Margins
Mobikwik witnessed a significant escalation in total expenses during Q4 FY25. The company’s expenditure surged to ₹324.28 crore, marking a 22% increase compared to ₹265.7 crore in Q4 FY24. The widening gap between modest revenue growth and spiraling costs ultimately drove the company into deeper losses.
Employee benefit expenses, marketing costs, technology investments, and credit-related provisioning all contributed to the surge in spending. Mobikwik increased hiring in sales, product, and compliance functions to support its broader financial services ambitions. However, this hiring spree exerted pressure on short-term profitability.
The firm also expanded investments in its technology infrastructure, aiming to improve app performance, data analytics, fraud detection, and user experience. While such investments support long-term growth, they inflated short-term operating costs.
Furthermore, marketing and promotional expenses climbed during the quarter as Mobikwik intensified its efforts to attract and retain users across payment, credit, and insurance services. With competition from players like PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, and new entrants such as BharatPe, Mobikwik must constantly invest in user acquisition to maintain relevance in the market.
Credit Segment Faces Regulatory and Market Pressures
Mobikwik’s credit distribution arm — once a bright spot in its diversified portfolio — saw growth momentum slow significantly. The company had aggressively scaled its BNPL and digital credit offerings in recent years, targeting young and underserved consumers. However, increasing default risks and tighter regulatory norms led to a strategic pullback.
The Reserve Bank of India has raised concerns about the proliferation of unsecured digital credit and its impact on consumer indebtedness. To ensure compliance, Mobikwik and its lending partners adopted stricter underwriting standards and introduced new risk management frameworks. These changes, while necessary, restricted the pace of credit expansion.
Credit provisioning costs also increased due to higher delinquencies in specific consumer segments. As inflationary pressures weighed on household budgets, repayment capacity for small-ticket credit products weakened. Mobikwik responded by tightening credit assessment and focusing on repeat, higher-quality borrowers — a move that further slowed disbursal volumes but improved asset quality metrics.
A Challenging Competitive Landscape
Mobikwik continues to operate in a hyper-competitive digital payments and financial services ecosystem. Rivals such as Paytm, PhonePe, and Google Pay dominate user mindshare and transaction volumes. These platforms benefit from strong brand recall, superior funding access, and large-scale merchant networks.
Mobikwik’s strategy of carving out a niche through integrated digital credit and wealth offerings remains sound, but execution requires consistent innovation and operational discipline. The company must differentiate its platform with intelligent personalization, loyalty-driven user retention, and partner-driven ecosystem expansion.
Strategic tie-ups with NBFCs, banks, and insurance providers remain crucial for Mobikwik’s business model. However, increased compliance costs, partner risk aversion, and pressure on digital lenders from regulatory bodies could affect the pace at which new products launch or existing ones scale.
IPO Prospects and Profitability Roadmap
Mobikwik filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI in 2021 but postponed its IPO plans amid market volatility and weak sentiment for loss-making digital companies. With recent financial performance raising fresh concerns, a public listing in the immediate future appears unlikely unless the company demonstrates a clear pathway to profitability.
To revive IPO ambitions, Mobikwik must arrest its operating losses, stabilize revenue growth, and contain expenditure. The company needs to reorient its credit strategy to balance growth with quality, optimize marketing spend, and potentially unlock new revenue streams from financial advisory, insurance distribution, or merchant analytics.
Management must also focus on improving unit economics. By increasing monetization per user, reducing cash burn, and aligning product costs with long-term value generation, Mobikwik can present a more attractive case to public market investors. Several Indian fintech players — including Zomato, Paytm, and Policybazaar — faced similar scrutiny post-listing and now prioritize profit pathways over aggressive scaling.
Outlook: Challenges Remain, But Opportunity Persists
Despite recent financial setbacks, Mobikwik operates in one of the most promising sectors in India. The country’s digital payments ecosystem continues to expand rapidly, driven by rising smartphone penetration, UPI adoption, and consumer comfort with cashless transactions. India’s digital credit and financial inclusion agenda also align with Mobikwik’s core vision.
The company retains an engaged user base, a diversified product portfolio, and a history of regulatory compliance. If leadership recalibrates strategy to focus on profitability, efficiency, and responsible credit growth, Mobikwik can regain momentum.
The next two quarters will be crucial. Investors, regulators, and partners will watch closely to assess whether the company curtails its losses and improves cost discipline. Sustained growth in high-margin verticals such as digital credit and insurance, coupled with tighter control on marketing and employee costs, can gradually restore confidence in Mobikwik’s long-term story.
In conclusion, Mobikwik’s Q4 FY25 performance reflects the tough choices fintechs face today: balance innovation with discipline, and chase growth without losing sight of financial fundamentals. While the current quarter presents a sobering snapshot, the long-term outlook still offers hope — provided the company adapts swiftly and smartly.