Paytm exit effect: BharatPe sees 77% jump in merchant on-boarding in Feb
Payments platform BharatPe has claimed a surge in business following the restrictions imposed on competitor Paytm and its payments bank arm on January 31, 2024.
In February, BharatPe’s merchant onboarding surged 77 per cent on month and platform’s website traffic for onboarding inquries increased by more than 47 per cent, the company told businessline.
Of this increase, onboarding from TierI cities increased 76 per cent followed by 63 per cent growth in TierII cities. The rise in ‘TierIII and beyond’ cities was at over 83 per cent leading to the total merchant base crossing 1.3 crore as of February 29.
The maximum traction was seen in the first 15 days post the restrictions imposed on Paytm.
Over 42 per cent kirana
In the first half of February, BharatPe said its merchant signups increased by
100 per cent on month, recording a growth of
104 per cent in metro cities and 95 per cent in TierII/III cities
stores have reportedly switched from Paytm to other platforms such as Mobikwik, BharatPe, PhonePe and GooglePay to ensure seamless continuation of their UPI payments. Previously, Paytm had around 69 per cent market share among kirana stores.
In the first half of February, BharatPe said its merchant signups increased by 100 per cent on month, recording a growth of 104 per cent in metro cities and 95 per cent in TierII/III cities. This was also aided by additional features and offers such as free QR code set up, flat earnings of up to ₹300 and instant settlements.
BharatPe’s loss narrowed to ₹886 crore in FY23 from ₹5,594 crore in FY22. The EBITDA loss declined by ₹158 crore in FY23, the fintech had then said. Its merchant lending business has grown 129 per cent to ₹5,339 crore and total loan disbursements to about ₹12,400 crore till date.
Since its inception, BharatPe has raised over $583 million in equity from investors such as Peak XV Partners, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Amplo, Beenext, Coatue Management, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, Steadview Capital and Tiger Global.