Instant messaging platform Hike on Tuesday rolled out an in-app electronic payments wallet in India in a bid to cash in on the increasing volume of digital transactions following demonetisation, Reuters reported. Hike’s move replicates the services offered by its Chinese backer Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Hike said its wallet will allow instant money transfer among its clients and enable fund transfer to banks using the government-backed United Payments Interface system. It has partnered with Yes Bank to facilitate money transfers to banks using the UPI system, Chief Executive Officer Kavin Mittal said.

Hike’s wallet is the first such service by a messaging platform in the country and comes before a possible launch of a payments facility by Facebook-owned WhatsApp later this year.

Hike says it has more than 100 million registered users. The company has raised over $260 million (approximately Rs 1,675 crore) from investors including Tiger Global, Tencent and Bharti SoftBank – a joint venture between Japan’s Softbank and India’s Bharti Enterprises.

Currently, Paytm is India’s biggest electronic wallets provider with 225 million clients, and has rapidly increased its market share since demonetisation on November 8 last year. Swedish communications app Truecaller also started a mobile payment service in India this year based on the UPI platform.