PayU is a Netherlands-based payment service provider to online merchants.[1][2] The company was founded in 2002,[3] and is headquartered in Hoofddorp. It allows online businesses to accept and process payments through payment methods that can be integrated with web and mobile applications.[4][5] As of 2018, the service is available in 17 countries.[6] The firm is owned by the Naspers Group, which also owns a stake in one of its sister companies, Tencent.[7][8]
PayU is the result of multiple payment gateways in various regions of the world that have been acquired and brought into the PayU group.[9][10][11] In 2014, all online payment companies that were part of Naspers started operating under the PayU brand.
In 2022, it fired about 150 employees, approximately 6% of its workforce.[12]
In 2023, PayU sold its global payments business, other than those in its core markets of India, Southeast Asia and Turkey, to Rapyd for $610 million.[13]
Investment and acquisitionsedit
Acquired Zooz, an Israeli startup that provides an API to merchants.[14]
Acquired Indian payments services provider, Citrus Pay in September 2016 for $130M.[15][16]
Investment of €110M in German fintech company Kreditech, which provides machine-learning-based underwriting.[17][18]
Series A investment of $3.7M in ZestMoney, a provider of consumer finance for online purchases.[21]
Invested $5.3M in Indian fintech startup PaySense in May 2017[22]
Investment of R$60M in online credit platform Creditas (ex-BankFacil)[23][24]
2011, acquired Romanian online payments company GECAD ePayments[25][26]
2019, acquired US-based digital financial security firm Wibmo for $70M[27]
2019, acquired Turkish digital payments company Iyzico for $165M[28]
2020, acquired Indian fintech startup PaySense for $185M[29]
Operationsedit
Europeedit
In November 2006, PayU SA was established and the Polish firm Platnosci.pl was merged into the group. The company also has a partnership with Iwoca to make financing for SME firms easier.[30] In 2010, the company expanded to the Czech Republic. In 2011, the company expanded to Romania. In 2012, it began its operations in Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Slovakia and Hungary.[31]
Latin Americaedit
In 2002, Pagosonline was founded in Colombia by Jose Velez, Martin Schrimpff and Santiago Spinel.[citation needed]
In 2010, PagosOnline sold a majority stake to Buscapé, which was a part of the Naspers Group.[32] In 2011, Naspers acquired the majority stake in DineroMail.[33] In 2013, Naspers acquired the rest of the shares of DineroMail.[34] In 2012, Naspers acquired Pagosonline, replacing the former two with a new payment platform that eventually was rebranded PayU Latam, which begun operations in Panama and Peru.[35] During the course of 2013 and 2014, PayU Latam and DineroMail merged.[36][37] In 2016, Bcash and PayU, were merged under the PayU brand in Brazil.[38]
Africaedit
PayJar was founded in South Africa in 2010 as part of the Naspers group to help other Naspers companies process online payments. In 2011, PayJar was rebranded to PayU.[39] In 2015, PayU expanded its operations to Nigeria.[40][41]
Indiaedit
In 2011, Ibibo in conjunction with co-founders Nitin Gupta and Shailaz Nag, rolled out a payment gateway, PayU, in the Indian market to permit websites to integrate e-commerce transactions through online payments.[42][43]
Products and servicesedit
PayU is a regulated financial institution. It holds licenses from central banks and local regulators. PayU's products include a PCI-DSS certified payment gateway,[44][45] an anti-fraud system and an online Visa/MasterCard acquirer.[46][47][48]
^"PayU: On the money | Forbes India". Forbes India. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^Sharma, Samidha. "GETS 20% - Naspers' PayU may invest in lending startup ZestMoney". The Times of India. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"Digital payments gateway PayU eyes acquisitions to enter lending segment". @businessline. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"Naspers' PayU leads investment in US digital money transfer platform". Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"PayU layoffs 6% of its workforce; 150 employees lose jobs: Report". livemint. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
^Lunden, Ingrid (1 August 2023). "Rapyd acquires a piece of PayU from Prosus for $610M to scale its fintech-as-a-service platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
^"PayU acquires Zooz to take on international payment services". Techcrunch. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
^"Naspers' PayU buys Citrus Pay for $130M in cash to expand in India". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"PayU to acquire Citrus Pay for $130 mn; Sequoia gets 4x returns". VCCircle. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"Kreditech raises €110M from Naspers' PayU in strategic financing partnership". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"PayU Infuses $119 Mn In German Fintech Startup Kredtitech; Aims To Increase Credit Access In Emerging Markets - Inc42 Media". Inc42 Media. 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"Remitly is raising up to $115M led by Naspers' PayU to double down on remittances". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^Geron, Tomio (31 October 2017). "Remitly Tacks On $115 Million for International Remittances". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"PayU leads $6.5 mn round of funding in ZestMoney". Techcircle. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"Paysense raises $ 5.3 mn from Jungle, Naspers". Business Standard India. 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"BankFacil receives Series A investment of USD $3 million". Accion. 2015-08-04. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"IFC Leads R$60m Series B in Creditas (formerly BankFacil) (em português)". LAVCA | Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association. 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"Entrepreneur Radu Georgescu makes new exit, selling Axigen to a group of Romanian entrepreneurs - Business Review". Business Review. 2014-03-11. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
^"El sitio de pagos DineroMail pasa a manos sudafricanas" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"BuscaPé Inc acquires controlling stake in Latin America online payments platform DineroMail". LAVCA | Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association. 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"Naspers culmina compra de DineroMail y lanza PayU Latam". iProfesional. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"La llegada de PayU al mercado latinoamericano de los pagos online | Ebanking News". www.ebankingnews.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"Pagosonline se convierte en PayU Latam". Blog Comercio Electronico (in European Spanish). 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"Naspers funde empresas de pagamentos online PayU e Bcash - TeleSíntese". telesintese.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). 27 April 2016. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^M, Swathi P (6 May 2015). "PayU India Rebrands PayU Enterprises And PayUmoney As Independent Entities". nextbigwhat.com. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"PayU to expand Nigerian online payment market | IT News Africa – Africa's Technology News Leader". www.itnewsafrica.com. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"PayU To Boost Nigerian Online Payments N200B | PYMNTS.com". www.pymnts.com. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^Sahay, Priyanka (2016-02-24). "Ibibo to raise $250 million from Naspers". Live Mint. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"Naspers merges PayU India with global payments business". Techcircle. 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"Refer to these companies for secure payments". The Siasat Daily. 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^"Refer how secure are your payments with PayU". PayU Blog. 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
^"Where is PayU Headed? Follow the Money". Bank Innovation. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
^ANI (2018-02-05). "PayU India launches payment collection feature". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2018-07-19.