Microsoft enables digital payments services on Microsoft Kaizala

Technology giant Microsoft on Tuesday enabled digital payments services on Microsoft Kaizala in India by integrating the payment services of Yes Bank and MobiKwik using both organisations' mobile payment infrastructure.

Payment integration with Microsoft Kaizala will enable users to quickly send or receive money without having to leave the Kaizala mobile application. With Microsoft Kaizala, users have the option to make peer to peer payments in one to one and group chat conversations via the MobiKwik wallet and via Yes Bank's state-of-the-art Unified Payment Interface (UPI) integration.

The UPI payment integration on Microsoft Kaizala works with all 86 banks that are already participating in UPI. Microsoft Kaizala is also aimed at making the Firstline workforce more productive and helping them communicate in real time. There are nearly 1.9 billion such workers worldwide, and a large portion of this workforce is based out of India.

Microsoft Kaizala, a mobile-only product designed for large group communications and work management, enables organisations to take business workflows to its Firstline workforce. With the introduction of this feature, organisations will now be able to disburse micro-payments, enable bill expense reimbursements, and pay travel allowances on the go to its mobile workforce.

"We see an opportunity for technology to give Firstline workers more intuitive, immersive, and empowering experiences - and thereby help organisations achieve greater efficiency, enhance their customers' experience, and increase both innovation and employee satisfaction. Office 365, including Microsoft Kaizala, Microsoft Teams and Outlook, aims to connect this mobile-first and mobile-only workforce for modern collaboration and teamwork," said Rajesh Jha, executive vice president, Office Product Group, Microsoft.

"When we launched Microsoft Kaizala for India in July 2017, we provided consumers as well as businesses with a secure chat platform to collaborate and be productive, on the go. Microsoft Kaizala is used by thousands of organisations across different industry verticals for their day-to-day workflows today and is growing. Payment transactions within the app was a key demand from our users for getting work done and we are happy to offer it today in collaboration with YES Bank and MobiKwik," said Rajiv Kumar, corporate vice president, Office Product Group, Microsoft.

"Yes Bank has been a pioneer in UPI and we have emerged as a leader in the UPI ecosystem by leveraging our strategic partnerships, as well as the Bank's first-of-its-kind API banking solution. We are glad to collaborate with Microsoft Kaizala and bring seamless payments to businesses and users by employing our state-of-the-art UPI Platform. The addition of payments makes Microsoft Kaizala an even more compelling platform for collaboration," said Ritesh Pai, chief digital officer, Yes Bank.

Microsoft Kaizala is available as a free mobile app on Android, iOS and Windows platforms for individual users.