PayU is the fintech subsidiary of Prosus.
This growth occurred despite a Reserve Bank of India embargo restricted PayU from onboarding new merchants, though it had an impact on the company’s payment business to a certain extent.
India, PayU’s largest market for payment services, contributed 46% to its core revenue from this segment and 60% of total payment volumes (TPV).
“While our payments business in India achieved a 3% trading profit margin in FY23, this worsened to -3% in FY24 due to the change in merchant and payment method mix (predominantly driven by the embargo),” Prosus said in its annual report for 2024.
In January 2023, ET reported that the RBI instructed PayU to reapply for its payments aggregator (PA) licence, citing the fintech firm’s complex corporate structure. However, on April 24, PayU received an in-principle approval from the RBI to operate as a PA, allowing it to start onboarding new merchants.
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The company’s India revenue growth was driven by increasing volumes from existing merchants and growing value-added services such as affordability. Its TPV grew 22%, outpacing revenue growth, driven by strong performance in ecommerce, financial services, and government segments, the report said.Credit services
Besides payments, PayU provides credit services in India, which was another key driver of its growth in FY24. These services include buy-now-pay-later offerings and personal loans to consumers via the LazyPay app. As part of a plan to diversify its portfolio, the company began pilot studies this year to provide loans to small and medium businesses.
“Our credit business grew revenue 29% to $107 million, despite a slowdown in loan issuances as part of a response to evaluate new regulations shared by the Reserve Bank of India,” it said.
In FY24, PayU disbursed $873 million in loans.
PayU noted that India remains its largest market for digital payments. The future for digital payments in India remains positive, with peer-to-merchant digital payments volume expected to grow to over $3 trillion and digital personal and consumer credit estimated to reach $130 billion by FY30, it said.
Global performance
Globally, PayU witnessed a 22% increase in consolidated revenue, reaching $1.1 billion in FY24.
The company’s core payment services business, which accounts for 88% of its total revenue, grew 23% to $975 million. This segment includes operations in India, the Global Payment Operation (GPO) business, Iyzico (Turkey) and Red Dot Payments (Southeast Asia).
In August 2023, PayU announced the sale of its GPO business, excluding Iyzico (Turkey) and Red Dot Payments (Southeast Asia), to Rapyd. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter of calendar year 2024, the report said.
Content Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com