PayU gets RBI nod for NBFC, to start credit business

Online payments service provider PayU has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a non-banking financial company. Owned by South African media conglomerate Naspers, PayU will use the NBFC license to set up its credit business, PayU Credit, targeted at consumer financing.

Through PayU Credit, which will be a subsidiary of PayU, the firm will issue personal loans and equated monthly instalments on checkout for consumers, Jitendra Gupta, the payments firm’s managing director told TechCircle.

“We will launch new product variants faster and address a new segment of consumers for providing credit on tap. We will also continue to work with our other NBFC partners,” he added.

Gupta also said that the company will build the new credit business through in-house developments, partnerships, and acquisitions and investments.

At the recent Naspers global roundtable in India, Bob van Dijk, the firm’s chief executive, had indicated that fin-tech will be one of the focus areas of investment in India. He also said that the company will continue to back PayU to open new lines of business and investments in other companies.

The company has been active in the micro-lending space through its product LazyPay, which it launched 18 months back. The product allows customers to ‘buy now, pay later’ on its partner websites. The company also holds 20% stake in ZestMoney, which allows online shoppers to avail loans payable through EMIs without the need to own a credit card.

“Credit is the next growth driver for the fin-tech industry in the country. We have already served more than 500,000 consumers during the last 12 months,” Gupta said in a company statement.

PayU India is also looking to strengthen its mergers and acquisition team for growth, a report in The Economic Times, said. The company had acquired Citrus Pay for $130 million in September 2016.