Razorpay Inc infuses Rs 130 Cr into payment gateway business

Razorpay and Google Pay have some similarities. While the Sequoia Capital-backed firm was a late entrant in payment gateway (B2B payments business), Google Pay made its debut only two years ago in the hyper-competitive, consumer payments space. 

Both companies kicked-off when their segments were considered overcrowded with little opportunity to become a sizeable player. Nevertheless, they have been making strong headways in their business. 

To continue the growth momentum amidst intense competition, the duo also requires periodic investments. While Google has no dearth of capital, Razorpay Inc had also cornered a $75 million round led by Ribbit Capital in June this year. 

The proceeds from the Series C round have started flowing into its Indian entity. According to RoC filings with Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the US-based holding entity Razorpay Inc has invested around Rs 130.15 crore in Razorpay Software.

California based Razorpay Inc has acquired 21,94,055 equity shares of Razorpay Software at a price of Rs 593.22 per share. It’s worth noting that Razorpay owns and operates the payment gateway business. The payment gateway products suite includes Razorpay Software, Razorpay Tech, and Razor Financial. 

Its merchant lending platform Razorpay Capital finances merchants who use company’s products and services. The company also plans to foray into consumer lending and has applied for PPI licence to develop wallet, issue smart cards, gift cards, and co-branded credit cards through Razorpay Tech.

Recently, Razorpay had acquired a fraud prevention AI startup, Thirdwatch, for an undisclosed amount. The company would leverage the Gurugram-based startup’s artificial intelligence and machine learning-based detection tools to reduce cash on delivery frauds.

The fresh capital is likely to be used to strengthen the company’s neo banking platform Razorpay X and lending arm Razorpay Capital. The firm competes with the likes of Paytm Payment Gateway, Billdesk, CCAvenue, Ogone among several others.