Investments shaping the future of fintech

Home > PayU Investments in Fintech

One of the world’s most active fintech investors

Many people are familiar with PayU as the leading payment service provider in some of the world’s most exciting emerging markets.

Investment, however, has always been at our core. Our company began life as an amalgamation of investments made by the Naspers Group (now Prosus), one of the largest technology investors in the world. And we’ve now reached a significant milestone ourselves, crossing the $1 billion mark in fintech investments during 2021 and continuing to invest in a diverse range of additional fintech partnerships since then.

Our dual identity as an investor and an operator means we offer start-ups more than just capital. Our approach centers on people – we focus on long-term investments that allow us to build meaningful relationships, nurture the growth of both businesses as well as their founders, and support solutions that make a difference in the world.

Over the last five years, we’ve made investments in seventeen different companies across payments, credit, digital assets and other areas of fintech. These companies hail from nine different countries and our investments have ranged from seed funding, to several hundred million dollars across multiple rounds, all the way up to full acquisitions.

Take a deep dive into our global investments, and learn more about our four key investing pillars below the infographic.

Meet the PayU family

Browse the interactive graphic to learn more about PayU’s first $1 billion in global fintech investments (updated April 2021).

From the founders

Join our CEO Laurent le Moal as we meet the founders of some of the leading companies that PayU has invested in, and learn about their paths to fintech success.

Our investment pillars

PayU’s investments cover four key areas connected to our vision of a world without financial borders where everyone can prosper.

Competing Successfully

We pride ourselves on being experts in our local markets, understanding the nuances and landscape of each country. When there’s another player that has an exceptional offering and a focus on bringing better financial services to a market, we look for opportunities to join forces. Rather than competing for market share, we concentrate on creating a true market leader that can best serve local businesses and people.
Product & Technology Development

A third of the companies we’ve invested in over the past few years fall within this space. These are the cutting-edge businesses that we believe can accelerate our vision while improving our core product. Our investments focus on bringing better services and value to our merchants and stakeholders around the world, while keeping in front of the fast-moving fintech landscape.
Geographic Expansion

We don’t want to reinvent the wheel when we see players who have already identified a market gap and developed a fantastic business offering. Our collaboration with Red Dot Payments is a perfect example. Working with RDP to expand PayU’s reach to Southeast Asia and connecting Red Dot’s online, cross-border payments business with our own was the ultimate “win-win”.
Disruptive Investment

Being a world-leading fintech investor means keeping an eye on the people, ideas and technologies that have the potential to transform our world. That’s why we’re a strong believer in blockchain – as reflected in our partnership with Diem (formerly Libra) and our investments in Bakkt, Luno, and the Digital Currency Group. We’ve also invested in the likes of Remitly (remittances) and Creditas (consumer credit) because we believe they are true industry-disruptors.

Investment updates – PayU acquires BillDesk

In August 2021 PayU announced an agreement to acquire Indian digital payments provider BillDesk for US$4.7 billion.

Two of the leading payment businesses in India

PayU and BillDesk run complementary businesses within India’s digital payment industry. Together, we expect to create a financial ecosystem handling four billion transactions annually – four times PayU’s current level in India.

Stronger together

PayU and BillDesk will be able to meet the changing payments needs of digital consumers, merchants and government enterprises in India, offering state-of-the-art technology to even more currently underserved sections of society while adhering to the regulatory environment.