Dutch fintech company PayU has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Indian digital lending company PaySense and all its assets for $185m.
The fintech firm revealed plans to merge its Indian consumer lending business LazyPay with PaySense in a move to create a full-stack digital lending platform in India.
PayU will also make an equity investment of up to $200m in the new digital lending platform. The Dutch fintech company said that it will immediately invest $65m in the merged entity and in the next 24 months will provide the remaining amount to grow the loan book.
The Indian digital lending company leverages advanced data sciences
Founded in 2015, the Mumbai-based Paysense is said to utilise advanced data sciences to offer credit to its users, while removing the necessity of complex application processes, physical proofs, and long waits.
The digital lending company offers personal loan, vehicle loan, consumer loan and other loans.
PayU said that the merger of LazyPay and PaySense is in line with its long-term vision of creating a fintech ecosystem in India through a partnership with the right companies and by providing multiple financial services.
PayU credit global head Siddhartha Jajodia said: “Technology has the power to completely transform people’s access to financial services and the credit market in India is ripe for further digital disruption. This merger is the next step in our journey as we accelerate our vision for credit in India.”
The unified digital lending platform is expected to help banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), alternate lenders, and other third parties to co-lend and grow assets, said the Dutch fintech company. Furthermore, the consolidated digital platform will also enable borrowers to get credit when and where they need.
PaySense founder and CEO Prashanth Ranganathan said: “Providing more Indian consumers with access to credit is crucial to helping individuals grow and succeed. PayU is a natural partner for us as we both strive to make finance more simple, accessible and transparent.
“We’re excited to start bringing our personal loan product to more consumers throughout India and truly democratise credit.”
Prashanth Ranganathan will head the credit business of PayU in India by taking over as the CEO of the new enterprise. He will continue to keep a stake in the merged digital lending company, while all the other shareholders and investors will exit.
Recently, PayU, which is the payments and fintech business of Prosus, acquired a majority stake in Singaporean online payment service provider Red Dot Payment. Prior to that, the Dutch fintech company signed a deal to acquire Turkish digital payment services provider iyzico for $165m.
