Payment service provider PayU has acquired a strategic stake of 43.5 per cent in digital payments platform Mindgate Solutions to expand its presence in real-time payments space in India. As per the deal, the majority ownership of Mindgate will remain with the company’s founders including Guhan Muthuswamy and George Sam. With the current investment, PayU aims to leverage Mindgate’s payment solutions for banks, government institutions, merchants, and corporates to strengthen its focus on real-time payments.
PayU is the payments and fintech business of the global consumer internet group Prosus. The company provides payment gateway solutions to online businesses. It has over 4.5 lakh merchants in India with more than 100 payment methods catering to e-commerce merchants and a majority of airline businesses.
The company declined to comment on the amount invested.
Speaking on the investment, Anirban Mukherjee, CEO, PayU said Mindgate’s expertise in real-time payments complements the company’s mission to drive the next generation of digital payment innovations.
“Together, we will enhance the infrastructure that supports seamless financial transactions, delivering exceptional value to banks, merchants, and consumers worldwide,” he said.
PayU in India had last acquired consumer lending startup PaySense for $185 million in 2020 and payment & security company Wibmo for $70 million in 2019.
“Our partnership with PayU is a significant milestone in Mindgate’s global expansion journey, combining our proven expertise in real-time digital payments with PayU’s extensive market reach,” said George Sam, Co-founder & Business Head, Mindgate Solutions. Mindgate processes over 8 billion transactions monthly through its partner banks facilitating payments worth $1 trillion annually. The company is present in MENA, ASEAN, Europe, and the US.
Digital payments in India over the past decade has recorded significant growth, with the total number of digital payment transactions volume growing from 2,071 crore in FY18 to 18,737 crore in FY24 at Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 44 per cent. The value of transactions, on the other hand, has scaled up from Rs 1,962 lakh crore to Rs 3,659 lakh crore at CAGR of 11 per cent.
However, UPI remains the cornerstone of India’s digital payment ecosystem. UPI has revolutionised digital payments in the country with transactions jumping from 92 crore in FY18 to 13,116 crore in FY24 at CAGR of 129 per cent.
