Payments app for small merchants and kirana store owners BharatPe has acquired the loyalty programme and rewards platform for online shopping Payback India from American Express (AmEx) and ICICI Investments Strategic Fund. Through this first-ever acquisition by BharatPe, which has over 6 million merchants, over 100-million-user strong Payback India will become its wholly-owned subsidiary, BharatPe announced on Thursday. The deal will also allow the company to foray into the business-to-consumer side and is “in line with BharatPe’s strategy to build a robust and engaged network of over 20 million small merchants by 2023,” the company said on Thursday. While BharatPe didn’t disclose the deal amount but it is reportedly pegged between $25-30 million.
BharatPe didn’t immediately comment on confirming the deal amount.
The app allows shop owners to accept payments through a single QR code from all payment apps such as Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, etc. Last year, the company had launched its zero merchant discount rate (MDR) card acceptance terminals called BharatSwipe. It claimed to process over 10 crores UPI transactions per month with annualized transaction processed worth of more than $10 billion. On the other hand, Covid, which has impacted retailers the most due to the pandemic, has necessitated on the internet payments for such enterprises who have otherwise preferred money as the key channel for transactions.
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BharatPe mentioned the acquisition will allow the enterprise to make “lucrative offerings” for finish clients, that will boost footfalls at merchants and accelerate the development of their enterprises. The deal will absorb all Payback India personnel into BharatPe group although Suhail Sameer and Gautam Kaushik, Group President at BharatPe along with General Counsel Sumeet Singh will join the Payback India’s board. Moreover, the function of the senior leadership at Payback will be expanded towards working on the loyalty plan for BharatPe’s merchants. However, Payback will retain its name.
“In addition to the range of payment and credit products which BharatPe offers to help merchants scale their business, we will also be able to drive more consumers to their stores,” Ashneer Grover, Co-Founder and CEO, BharatPe mentioned in a statement. “Users can collect points while shopping offline and online and benefit from exclusive offers in the usual way, now at even more merchants with BharatPe,” mentioned Markus Knorr, Chief Financial Officer, Payback Global. Launched in 2010, Payback India enables clients to earn and redeem points on just about every transaction at its companion merchant outlets.
Bharat claimed to have facilitated the disbursement of loans as nicely worth more than Rs 1,600 crores to its merchants considering that its launch. The startup has raised practically $300 million so far from investors which includes Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital, Beenext, Amplo, and Sequoia Capital.