Introduction of Bharatpe
The Inspiring Success Story of Bharatpe
BharatPe is a leading fintech company in India that offers a comprehensive platform for a variety of digital payment solutions. The company’s primary focus is on small business owners, particularly Kirana stores, and provides them with an array of tools to help streamline their payment processes.
BharatPe’s services include UPI payments, card acceptance, small business funding, and more. Through the use of QR codes, the company allows small merchants to accept UPI payments at no cost.
Prior to the launch of BharatPe, most payment gateways in India had a closed ecosystem, requiring merchants to use different QR codes for various payment gateways. Each payment gateway charged over 1% commission for transactions, which became a significant issue for SMEs and merchants.
To solve this problem, the founders of BharatPe created a single QR code that can be used with various payment gateways, including Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, and over 150 other UPIs. As a result, BharatPe has helped to reduce the commission fees that merchants pay for accepting digital payments.
Company highlights
| Startup Name | Bharatpe |
| Headquarters | Delhi,India |
| Sector | Fintech |
| Founders | Bhavik Koladiya, Shashvat Nakrani |
| Founded | April 2018 |
| Total Funding | $720 mn (January 2022) |
| Revenue | $93.33 mn (Rs 700 crore in FY21) |
| Valuation | $3 bn (January 2022) |
| CEO | Suhail Sameer |
| Website | www.bharatpe.com |
About Bharatpe
BharatPe is a leading fintech company based in India that offers a range of digital payment solutions to small businesses and Kirana store owners in the country. The company was founded in 2018 by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani and has quickly gained a reputation for its innovative approach to digital payments and its commitment to empowering small businesses.
The company’s primary focus is on providing small merchants with a single platform for various digital payments. This platform includes solutions for UPI payments, card acceptance, small business funding, and more. One of the key features of the platform is a single QR code that can be used with various payment gateways, including Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, and over 150 other UPIs. This simplifies the payment process for small merchants and helps to reduce the commission fees they pay for accepting digital payments.
BharatPe’s innovative approach to digital payments has quickly gained the attention of investors, and the company has raised over $350 million in funding to date. The company has also established partnerships with leading banks and financial institutions in India to provide small businesses with access to credit and other financial services.
BharatPe has experienced rapid growth since its launch, and the company now has over 50 million registered merchants on its platform. The company’s success can be attributed to its commitment to providing small businesses with the tools and support they need to succeed in an increasingly digital economy.
In summary, BharatPe is an innovative fintech company that is helping to revolutionize digital payments in India. The company’s focus on small businesses and its commitment to providing simple, affordable, and accessible payment solutions has made it a leading player in the Indian fintech landscape.
Bharatpe – Logo & Tagline
Company Logo
Company Tagline
The tagline of the company is ‘Ab se Dukandar is king‘. It also says ‘Apne Parivar Aur Shop Ko Rakhe Insured.
bharatpe founder
Ashneer Grover
Ashneer Grover is an Indian entrepreneur and the co-founder of BharatPe, a leading fintech company that provides digital payment solutions to small businesses in India. Grover is widely regarded as a visionary in the Indian fintech space, and his innovative approach to digital payments has helped to transform the industry in India.
Prior to co-founding BharatPe, Grover was the CFO and Strategy Head at OYO Rooms, one of India’s leading hotel booking platforms. During his time at OYO Rooms, Grover played a key role in the company’s rapid growth and helped to establish it as a market leader in the Indian hospitality sector.
After leaving OYO Rooms, Grover turned his attention to the fintech space, recognizing the potential for innovation and growth in the sector. Along with his co-founder Shashvat Nakrani, Grover launched BharatPe in 2018 with the goal of simplifying digital payments for small businesses in India.
Under Grover’s leadership, BharatPe has experienced rapid growth and has established itself as a leading player in the Indian fintech space. The company has raised over $350 million in funding to date and has established partnerships with leading banks and financial institutions in India.
Grover’s success in the Indian fintech space has earned him numerous accolades, including being named to Fortune India’s 40 under 40 list in 2020. He is widely recognized as a thought leader in the industry and is regularly invited to speak at industry conferences and events.
In summary, Ashneer Grover is a visionary entrepreneur who has made a significant impact in the Indian fintech space. His innovative approach to digital payments has helped to transform the industry and has provided small businesses in India with the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly digital economy.
Bhavik Koladiya
He is the co-founder and Group Head of The Product and Technology area of BharatPe. He is an “Angel Investor” in many popular IT companies in India. Like Pristyn Care, Digifin, and LenDenClub. In March 2022, both the co-founders of BharatPe came into news channels. For fighting for their stake in the company.
Shashvat Nakrani
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Textile Technology. From India’s premier institute IIT Delhi. He completed his schooling from his father’s institute in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. During his college days, he dropped out of his college in 2018. To start the UPI payment service provider, BharatPe. Shashvat Nakrani is one of the co-founders of the company. He was also named as the “youngest richest self-made individual” on IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021.
Mission and Vision of Bharatpe
The mission of BharatPe is to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants.
The mission of BharatPe is to ensure that Indian merchants, particularly small businesses and Kirana store owners, are not excluded from the financial system. The company aims to achieve this by providing affordable and accessible digital payment solutions to merchants across the country. By simplifying the payment process and reducing commission fees, BharatPe aims to encourage more merchants to accept digital payments, which can help them to grow their businesses and participate in the formal economy. Overall, BharatPe’s mission is to empower Indian merchants and promote financial inclusion by providing them with the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly digital economy.
Bharatpe – Business Model
BharatPe is a QR code-based payments company based in India that operates on a B2B2C model, benefiting both customers and merchants. The company’s app accepts payments from over 100 mobile apps downloaded in India on the UPI system, by offering businesses a single interoperable QR sticker. This enables merchants to accept payments from all popular mobile apps like Paytm, WhatsApp, Mobikwik, Amazon Pay, BHIM, Google Pay, Freecharge, and Truecaller. Merchants also receive immediate credits for transactions made in their bank accounts on the same day.
In 2021, BharatPe signed several renowned cricketers including Rohit Sharma, Jasprit.
12% Club
BharatPe has partnered with the NBFCs, which are approved by the RBI, to launch the 12% Club, the first-of-its-kind investment, consumer lending, and borrowing app. The 12% Club app is a significant step forward into the consumer space for BharatPe and will be a huge benefit for the customers with which:
| Consumers can invest and earn up to 12% of annual interest without any lock-in period. |
| They can borrow at a competitive interest rate of 12%. |
| Customers can borrow up to Rs 10 lacs through this app. |
| They can also avail of loans up to Rs 10 lacs without any collaterals for a tenure of up to 3 months |
| Furthermore, they can also withdraw their money, partially or wholly anytime and anywhere. |
| There will be no processing or pre-payment charges for the loans via this platform. |
| The customers can start their investments with as low as Rs 1000 and receive daily credit of interest. |
BharatPe is looking forward to achieving an AUM of $100 million and a lending AUM of $50 million from the 12% Club app by the end of the present fiscal.
BharatPe credit cum debit card
A payment instrument card issued by SBM Bank (India) Ltd. in collaboration with Resilient Innovations Pvt. Ltd. It can get used as a debit as well as a credit card. Using this card the customer can get 1% cashback on all the BharatPe spends and also a credit limit of up to Rs. 1 lakh with no transaction fees.
BharatPe – Revenue Model
BharatPe’s revenue model is based on providing consumers with a digital payments platform and a separate app for merchants. The company credits merchants for their transactions digitally and also provides them with affordable credit. BharatPe relies on the interdependent relationship between credit and application usage to increase revenue on its platform.
As a startup, it is crucial for BharatPe to focus on the merchant side of its business, and the company has prioritized this aspect to drive growth. By offering affordable credit to merchants and simplifying the payment process, BharatPe aims to encourage more businesses to adopt digital payments, which can increase transaction volume and ultimately boost revenue on its platform.
BharatPe – marketing strategy
BharatPe has adopted a unique marketing strategy that has been instrumental in the company’s success. Unlike other UPI payment platforms that focused on consumers and customers separately, BharatPe’s customers are its consumers, specifically merchants. To incentivize merchants to use their platform, the company provides cashback directly to the merchant.
BharatPe’s marketing strategy has led to two popular campaigns – “Ek Bharat Ek QR” and “Team BharatPe.” The company chose to partner with cricketers for its brand ambassadors, recognizing the sport’s popularity in India and the significant fan following it has. The “Team BharatPe” campaign capitalized on this popularity and targeted cricket-oriented audiences.
The “Ek Bharat Ek QR” campaign also gained a lot of attention by assuring merchants and retailers that payments made through UPI payment gateways would reach their bank accounts with attractive cashback incentives.
During the pandemic, small businesses struggled financially, and BharatPe helped by providing small loans to SMEs and retail shop owners without the need for collateral. This assistance helped many businesses stay afloat during challenging times.
BharatPe’s unique marketing strategy has helped the company stand out in a crowded market and has driven its success. The company has plans to open up its payment bank, for which it has already obtained approval from the RBI.
BharatPe competitors
BharatPe faces competition from various other digital payment and fintech companies operating in India. Some of the major competitors of BharatPe are:
All these companies offer digital payment solutions for customers and merchants in India. However, BharatPe’s unique selling proposition (USP) of providing a single QR code for various payment gateways, along with its focus on small merchants and SMEs, sets it apart from its competitors. Additionally, the company’s focus on providing loans to small businesses without collateral is another aspect that differentiates it from other digital payment players in the market.
BharatPe challenges
BharatPe has come under scrutiny by the Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) for an extended period. The regulatory body has been closely examining the financial activities of BharatPe and uncovered several irregularities within the company.
Moreover, based on the investigation, Ashneer Grover and his family have been accused of being involved in significant financial impropriety, including the misuse of company funds and the creation of fraudulent vendors.
BharatPe – Future Goals
In 2020, BharatPe introduced a new feature called Paisa Bolega, which turns the merchant’s phone into a loudspeaker to announce the value of the transaction received. The company aims to continue developing its app to meet the increasing demands of merchants, and recently disbursed around Rs 140 crore. While loan demand from merchants has not shown much growth, BharatPe plans to focus on rental and inventory payments, which they predict will soon rise.
BharatPe has announced plans to expand its point-of-sale (POS) business, BharatSwipe, threefold and reach $6 billion in annualized transaction value by the end of FY22. The company also plans to expand its reach by five times and make BharatSwipe popular in 80 cities in India by the end of the next fiscal year. In addition, the company is looking to achieve around 10 times growth in lending by FY23.
As of October 2021, BharatPe was close to crossing the $14 billion mark in annualized total payment value and is now working to ramp up to about $30 billion by March 2023. The CEO of BharatPe, Suhail Sameer, has stated their plan to build a lending book of about Rs 40,000 crore ($5 billion) in five years.
BharatPe ballooning
Since its establishment, BharatPe has experienced impressive growth and has become a formidable digital payment platform. The loan application process is entirely digital, and the business app provides merchants with the best offers and other relevant details before applying for a loan. Loan disbursement takes place within 30 minutes.
Merchants have the option to opt for loans with a duration of 6, 9, and 12 months, and they can repay the loans through Easy Daily Installments (EDI). BharatPe intends to launch an EMI option for loan repayments to enhance customer experience. The QR code-based loans require minimal paperwork.
BharatPe has deployed over 1 lakh Point of Sale (PoS) machines across 16 cities in India, enabling transactions worth over Rs. 1400 crores per month. It has become the preferred digital payment platform for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Kirana store owners, restaurant owners, and other small businesses with fewer outlets.
BharatPe claims to have disbursed loans amounting to Rs. 150 crores to its merchants during FY20. The company also claims to have earned Rs. 6.94 crores from its capital assets during the same financial year.
FAQs
1. is bharatpe profitable?
BharatPe’s revenue from operations grew 3.8X to Rs 456.8 crore during the last fiscal year (FY22) in comparison to Rs 119 crore in FY21, according to its consolidated annual financial statement with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).26
2. bharatpe net worth
Related to bharatpe net worth in rupeesAccording to a report in GQ India, Managing Director and CoFounder of BharatPe Ashneer Grover is estimated to have a net worth of Rs21,300 crore. Notably, he is among the richest sharks on the show
3. Who owns BharatPe?
BharatPe was co-founded by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani in 2018 to build a holistic FinTech platform for small merchants. The company is committed to empowering the over 50 million-strong SME community with its range of financial products, specially designed to address their needs.
4. Is BharatPe approved by RBI?
BharatPe Group has received in principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator. The company shared that the in principle approval has been awarded to Resilient Payments Private Ltd , a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Resilient Innovations Private Ltd (BharatPe).
5. Is BharatPe a government company?
Resilient Innovations Private Limited (“BharatPe”) is a private company limited engaged in the business of facilitating a suite of financial services to merchants through its digital platform, on software as a service model, and providing other value-added services to such merchants.
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