BharatPe has acquired 100% of Payback India, a multi-brand loyalty programme, from American Express and ICICI Investments Strategic Fund for an undisclosed amount.
This is the first-ever acquisition by the digital payments app.
Launched in 2010, Payback India is a brand loyalty platform that allows customers to earn and redeem points on payments made at partner merchant points. Payback claims to have 100 million users in India.
The acquisition will help BharatPe increase customer engagement on its platform and enable its six million merchants to roll out loyalty services to customers, the Noida-based startup said in a statement.
“With the acquisition of Payback India, we will be able to add a whole new dimension to our merchant value proposition. In addition to the range of payment and credit products which BharatPe offers to help merchants scale their business, we will also be able to drive more consumers to their stores,” BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover said.
While Payback India is expected to retain its brand and function as a standalone entity, all Payback India employees will become part of BharatPe Group. Suhail Sameer and Gautam Kaushik, group presidents at BharatPe, along with General Counsel Sumeet Singh have joined the Board of Payback India, according to the release.
“It was our top priority to ensure that for the members of the successful Payback India program there would be no changes and that the great customer experience would also be maintained,” Markus Knorr, chief financial officer of Payback Global, said. “Users can collect points while shopping offline and online and benefit from exclusive offers in the usual way, now at even more merchants with BharatPe.”
Source: Economic Times