Beenext leads Series A funding in digital payments firm Phi Commerce

Phi Commerce Pvt Ltd, an omnichannel digital payments company, has raised $4 million (Rs 29.3 crore at current exchange rates) in a Series A funding round.

The round in Pune-based Phi Commerce has been led by Beenext, a Singapore-based venture capital firm that is an active investor in India’s startup space. 

Other participants in this round include Yatra Angel Network, a financial technology-focussed investment platform managed by fintech veteran Abhishant Pant.

Phi Commerce was set up in 2015 by Jose Antony Thattil, Tushar Ashok Shankar, Anil Sohanlal Sharma, and Rajesh Hanumantrao Londhe. 

The startup says it has established itself across Tier-I markets in the country, and has made a strong push for underserved Tier-II and Tier-III locations as well. It provides solutions for payment schemes, banks, processors, and businesses of varying sizes.

Phi Commerce will use the capital it has raised for enhancing its product offering, expanding its presence in markets, and entering new geographies.

“India is probably the most complex payments market in the world with all sorts of payment form factors. The Phi Commerce team has built a remarkable product covering end-to-end omni-channel payments at scale,” Beenext partner Hero Choudhary said.

Phi Commerce says its solutions include doorstep digital payments and single-click automated subscription payments. According to VCCEdge, it reported net sales of Rs 1.69 crore for the 2018-19 financial year, with losses of Rs 1.54 crore for the same period.

The investment in the company is the latest example of a payments infrastructure provider raising money. This segment of the larger fintech space has seen strong traction in recent months, with startups raising cheques of various sizes.

Earlier this week, the payments and financial services-focussed BharatPe raised Rs 60 crore (around $8.2 million) from venture debt firm InnoVen Capital. According to reports, the company is also planning to raise $150-200 million in equity funding and around $500 million in debt.

Last month, startup incubator and accelerator Venture Catalysts invested in two companies operating in the space. The first, NCOME, operates an escrow-as-a-service platform. The second, YPay, provides financial products that are targeted at children and students in Tier-III locations and beyond.

In November, business-focussed Cashfree raised $35 million (around Rs 258.87 crore) in a Series B fundraising round that was led by Apis Growth Fund II, an investment vehicle managed by Apis Partners LLP.