Global online payment service provider PayU announced on Friday it has acquired digital payments company Wibmo for $70 million. PayU reported that the acquisition combines its merchant network and Wibmo’s leadership in digital transaction security solutions to offer payments solutions to merchants and financial institutions in India and other markets.
PayU also revealed that the acquisition will enable it to build a robust digital payment ecosystem capable of harmonizing transaction processing on both issuing and acquiring side, to deliver a “seamless” payment experience as well as success rates in online and mobile payments.
“Additionally, PayU and Wibmo together will be able to work with merchants and financial institutions to offer targeted payment solutions leveraging data from hundreds of millions of Indian consumers annually. This acquisition will also help PayU accelerate its credit business by leveraging big data to power credit on various online and offline merchants in partnership with leading lending players.”
While sharing more details about the acquisition, Aakash Moondhra, CFO, PayU Global stated:
“India is a priority market for PayU and we are committed to making digital payments frictionless through our innovative products and services, supporting the Government’s vision of a digital India. PayU’s technologically future-ready products are defining and reinventing India’s payments landscape, supporting the country’s transition to a cashless, digital economy. Through the acquisition of Wibmo, our endeavour is to positively impact and add value to the entire ecosystem including banks, consumers and merchants, with the combined service offerings of PayU and Wibmo. We will partner with leading banks to enable digital banking, merchants will gain with higher conversions rates and increased sales, and consumers will have a frictionless experience in completing digital payments transactions.”
Govind Setlur, founder and CEO of Wibmo, then commented:
“PayU has evolved within the complex payments landscape to become India’s biggest online payments processor, serving more than 350,000 merchants. We are excited to embark on this next chapter of Wibmo’s growth with PayU. By combining our track record and expertise in payment security and mobile payments with PayU’s strong merchant network and heritage in payments, the combined entity will be focussed on delivering more secure and seamless payments experience to its customers.”
PayU went on to add that Wibmo will continue to operate and serve all of its clients as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Naspers’ PayU under the leadership of Govind. Wibmo’s management team will also become part of the PayU team, adding value to the combined business.