INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
PayU is acquiring a controlling stake in fintech startup PaySense at a valuation of $185 million and plans to merge it with its credit
form of equity capital over the next two years
announcement, PaySense had raised about $25.6 million from Nexus Venture Partners, and Jungle Ventures, among others
Regulatory filings show that PaySense was valued at about $48.7 million then.The merger will help PayU solidify its presence in the credit
business and become one of the largest players, said Siddhartha Jajodia, global head of Credit at PayU, in an interview with A Technology
The combined entity is valued at $300 million, he said.PaySense enables consumers to secure long-term credit for financing their new vehicle
purchases and other expenses
Some of its offerings overlap with those of LazyPay, which primarily focuses on providing short-term credit to consumers to facilitate
orders on food delivery platforms, e-commerce websites and other services
Its credit ranges between $210 and $7,030.Cumulatively, the two services have disbursed more than $280 million in credit to consumers, said
pose for a pictureAs part of the deal, PaySense and LazyPay will build a common and shared technology infrastructure
But at least for the immediate future, LazyPay and PaySense will continue to be offered as separate services to consumers, explained
get closer, we will make a call if a consolidation of brands is required
about a billion debit cards in circulation in India today, but only about 20 million people have a credit card
(The official government figures show that about 50 million credit cards are active in India, but many individuals tend to have more than
PaySense and LazyPay will likely explore building new offerings, such as credit for small and medium businesses
He did not rule out the possibility of getting stakes in more fintech startups in the future
PayU has already invested north of half a billion dollars in its India business
Our first two legs have been payments [processing] and credit
We will continue to scale both of these businesses
Even this acquisition was about getting new capabilities and a strong management team
It competes with Bangalore-based RazorPay
In recent years, RazorPay has expanded to serve small businesses and enterprises
In November, it launched corporate credit cards and other services to strengthen its neo banking play.
