Aim to onboard 5 million SMBs, invest heavily in strengthening security infra: Razorpay

New Delhi: Razorpay on February 4 said there has been strong growth in the number of small and medium businesses adopting digital payments during the pandemic, and it expects to onboard 5 million SMBs on its platform over the next one year.

The payments solutions provider — which has onboarded 7 lakh SMBs, startups and freelancers in the past 12 months — also plans to invest in strengthening security and fraud analytics infrastructure and building hyperlocal solutions.

“We onboarded over seven lakh new SMBs, startups and freelancers in the past 12 months, many of them from tier II and III cities and going online for the first time. We saw over 54 per cent of digital transaction volume coming from SMBs in tier II and III cities,” said Razorpay CEO and co-founder Harshil Mathur.

The company aims to further accelerate this digital revolution by enabling 5 million new Indian SMBs to adopt digital payments in the next 12 months, he added.

“We also plan to invest heavily in strengthening the security and fraud analytics infrastructure, along with building hyperlocal solutions to provide a seamless and safe payment experience for all. Trust is an important factor when it comes to digital payments,” he said.

Mathur explained that one of the significant changes during the pandemic was the shift towards digital spending behaviour, especially people from tier-II and III cities.

“Online shopping became the new normal but it left many offline firms grappling with the fear of losing their business. Not only the offline businesses but some of the online businesses in the essentials category, bill payments, education among others were also struggling to keep up with demand and ensure business continuity,” he said.

In December 2020, the company claimed that it has processed payments worth USD 30 billion, and this number is set to touch USD 50 billion in the next one year.

Recently, Razorpay had announced a string of new products, including vernacular language support in 7 languages, a B2B app store and ‘Razorpay Trusted Badge’ to help improve conversions for new businesses, along with Group Health Insurance for companies with as less as two employees.

Mathur noted that the company facilitated disbursal of loans worth Rs 250 crore a month, and aims to take this to Rs 500 crore a month this year.

In the last six months, the Tiger Global-backed company has witnessed a 40 per cent month-on-month growth in its business. Razorpay powers payments for over 5 million businesses, including Airtel, BookMyShow, Ola, Zomato, Swiggy, Cred, ICICI Prudential and others.