Digital Payments Now an Option for Merchants in India
BharatPe is a New Delhi-based startup company that is extending payment capabilities where it did not exist before. Merchants who were unable to take digital payment will now be able to thanks to the startup.
The startup company recently raised $75 million in new financing. Their Series C funding round was led by a New York hedge fund Coatue Management. They joined the existing Palo Alto fintech investor Ribbit Capital in this round.
The startup is currently estimated at a value of $400 million. BharatPe has raised close to $140 million at the present.
BharatPe works by allowing merchants who operate their business offline have the capability of taking digital currency. Despite having the reputation of being one of the largest internet markets, a lot of the smaller businesses in the country are offline.
To make the merchants feel at ease taking the digital payments, BharaPe uses QR codes. The startup has already issued about $14 million in short term loans to merchants over the last 7 months.
New merchants can get loans for $500 that they payback within a few months. Over time they can work toward a limit of $2000.
BharatPe is currently working with over 3 million merchants across 30 Indian cities. They are hoping to double this number by March of 2021.
Lending money to businesses is crucial for BahratPe to operate. They would not make enough simply working as a platform for payment exchange.
They currently have to compete with other competitors who are stepping up the payment game in India. Paytm is another startup with almost the same concept. They raised $1 billion last year. This startup has introduced a point-of-sale machine for merchants that allows them to scan and print.
The market for digital payments has increased rapidly in India. BharatPe has competition that they will have to overcome and expand their innovation.
