Truecaller acquires Chillr

Truecaller is probably one of the most popular mobile apps that identify an unknown number. Last year, the Swedish company had launched Truecaller Pay as its first step of foraying into the digital payments segment, incorporating the Unified Payment Interface-based transfers in its app. With an aim to take on the world’s second largest smartphone market, Truecaller has acquired Chillr, a Kerala-based entity in Fintech sector. With 150 million users in India, Truecaller is the third most-widely used app and with payment features built into the app, a person can transfer money as low as Rs 1 to any of the contacts on his/her phonebook, pay bills and even do recharges. The company also plans to integrate financial services such as loans, financing, micro-insurance and more. It already supports peer-to-peer payments through a partnership with ICICI bank. “By acquiring Chillr, we are reaffirming our commitment to mobile payments and strengthening our plans to increase its adoption among our user base,” Truecaller co-founder and chief strategy officer, Nami Zarringhalam, said in a statement. It has also been reported that Truecaller will rely only on its verification capabilities that act as a layer of security for users rather than taking incentives. After the acquisition, all 45 employees of Chillr will be absorbed into Truecaller. Sony Joy, co-founder of the Kochi-based firm, will be joining as the Vice President of Truecaller Pay. Chillr will also gradually dilute its brand and the existing users will be added to Truecaller. With this new merger, the company has set a target to give tough competition to Whatsapp, Paytm and other applications that provide financial services.