BharatPe acquires PAYBACK India for undisclosed amount

FinTech startup BharatPe has announced the acquisition of PAYBACK India. The acquisition comes from American Express and ICICI Investments Strategic Fund; for an undisclosed amount. This is BharatPe's first-ever acquisition which makes PAYBACK India a wholly-owned subsidiary of the soonicorn. The acquisition is in line with BharatPe’s strategy to build a robust and engaged network of over 20 million small merchants by 2023.

“With this acquisition, we will be able to add a whole new dimension to our merchant value proposition. In addition to the range of payment and credit products that BharatPe offers to help merchants scale their business, we will also be able to drive more consumers to their stores. We are committed to building India’s largest and most engaged merchant network. This acquisition will be a game-changer in that regard,” states Ashneer Grover, Co-Founder and CEO, BharatPe.

With PAYBACK India, BharatPe will be able to enhance its value proposition for the merchant partners. Additionally, it will enable BharatPe to build a lucrative set of offerings for end customers. It also aims to enhance and accelerate merchants' businesses growth. As a result of the acquisition, all PAYBACK India employees will become part of the BharatPe group. Suhail Sameer and Gautam Kaushik, Group Presidents, BharatPe along with Sumeet Singh, General Counsel, BharatPe, have joined the Board of PAYBACK India.

PAYBACK India will further expand its loyalty program for the 600 million+ BharatPe merchants. PAYBACK India already has over 100 million members in its multi-brand loyalty program. Further, Pramod Mahanta and Rijish Raghavan will work closely with Gautam Kaushik to build a new version of PAYBACK India. The company will continue operating under its current name. Further, there will be no impact on the existing customer and partner relationships with PAYBACK India.

A  whole new dimension to our merchant value proposition, states Ashneer Grover.

Speaking on the acquisition, Grover, said, “Our products have always aimed to empower the businesses of millions of small merchants and Kirana store owners in India. We are very selective about strategic partnerships & acquisitions, and believe this is a win-win to meet the brand promises of both BharatPe and PAYBACK India.”

Gautam Kaushik added, “Consumers today are very aware. They make their choice of purchase based on convenience and value. We aim to empower offline merchants with the ability to offer additional rewards, coupons or cashback to customers, to drive sales and customer stickiness. PAYBACK is a pioneer in loyalty programs and has a host of offerings to drive value to our merchants and a very large customer base (100m+).”

“It was our top priority to ensure that for the members of the successful PAYBACK India program there would be no changes and that the great customer experience would also be maintained. 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. We are convinced that the great PAYBACK value for customers is guaranteed sustainably; in the long term with BharatPe as the new operator”, says Markus Knorr, CFO, PAYBACK Global.

About PAYBACK India

The 11-year-old company has a network of 100+ offline and online partners. It allows its customers to earn and redeem points on every transaction at its partner merchant outlets.