BharatPe eyes $6 billion in annualised transaction processed value from POS business

Fintech firm BharatPe on Thursday said it is planning to scale up its POS business by three times and has set a target of $6 billion (about Rs 44,719 crore) in annualised transaction processed value (TPV) by the end of 2021-22.

BharatPe, which is the third-largest player in the private point of sale (POS) category, is also working on ramping up its reach by five times and sell 'BharatSwipe' in 80 cities across India by the end of the ongoing fiscal year, a statement said.

Besides, it is planning to expand brand partnerships significantly, and offer consumer credit to drive further value on the POS business, it added.

BharatPe had launched BharatSwipe, its card payment acceptance machine in the second half of 2020.

"This (POS) business has scaled up rapidly, and now contributes 20 per cent to the overall payments TPV of the company. Today, BharatPe has an installed base of over 1 lakh BharatSwipe machines across 16 cities in the country and facilitates transactions of over Rs 1,400 crore every month," a statement said.

Suhail Sameer, Group President at BharatPe, said the company has witnessed phenomenal growth in the POS business.

"I believe it is our disruptive business model that worked in our favour and appealed to the small merchants. With 60 per cent of our POS merchants being first-time card acceptance machine users...we believe that the business is ripe for growth," he added.

Sameer said the company will be expanding the reach of its POS business to 80 cities and deploy 3 lakh machines by end of 2021-22.

"Additionally, we are exploring strategic partnerships with banks, financial institutions and brands with the objective of enhancing the customer experience on our POS devices. This would include providing customer credit offerings in the form of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)," he said.

The company will also add loyalty and rewards features to the POS devices to aid merchants' business growth and drive increased consumer footfalls at their shops, he added.

BharatPe has raised close to USD 300 million in equity and debt, till date. Its investors include Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital, Beenext, Amplo and Sequoia Capital.

Last month, the company had announced the acquisition of Payback India, the country's largest multi-brand loyalty programme company with over 100 million members. In the same month, it also received an in-principle approval by the Reserve Bank to establish a small finance bank, in partnership with Centrum Financial Services Ltd (Centrum).