BharatPe closes Series B round at $50 Mn led by Ribbit Capital

QR code-based payment app BharatPe has closed its series B funding round at $50 million. US-based Ribbit Capital led the round while Steadview Capital has joined as the new investor.

Ashneer Grover led company was in talks with the investors to raise $75 million at about $350 million valuation, which Entrackr exclusively reported in June.

However, it has closed the Series B round at $50 million so that founders do not have to dilute additional stake at this stage. The company will be valued at $225 million.

This development has come a few days after BharatPe crossed 18 million monthly transaction volume mark and emerged as one of the fastest-growing fintech company focusing on offline merchants and retailers.

The Sequoia Capital-backed firm is targeting 30 million transactions every month by Diwali.

Launched by Grover and Shashvat Nakrani, BharatPe enables offline merchants to accept digital payments through any Unified Payment Interface-enabled apps such as Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, Mobikwik, Freecharge and Truecaller.

With close to 1.5 million merchant base, BharatPe has expanded its footprint across 20 cities in India. Further, it aims to onboard 1 million additional merchants by the year-end.

Meanwhile, the firm has been testing the lending model for its long term monetisation plan. As of now, it offers Rs 30,000-40,000 working capital to merchants and has disbursed over Rs 10 lakh loan. It's aiming to convert 20-25% of total merchant base on the platform using its credit services.

On the competition front, Paytm and PhonePe are major players in offline merchant payments. They have almost captured 90% market share in UPI-based merchant payments ecosystem.

This development was reported by TOI.