Cashfree Payments Secures $53 Million Funding

Cashfree Payments, a prominent payments company, has successfully raised $53 million (approximately Rs 450 crore) in a funding round led by KRAFTON, a renowned Korean digital entertainment company, along with existing investor Apis Growth Fund II, which is managed by Apis Partners Group. The funds will enhance Cashfree’s capabilities in payment processing and expand its market presence, while also fostering collaboration with KRAFTON to innovate within digital sectors, as stated in a press release from the Bengaluru-based firm.

Investment Overview

Throughout its nine-year journey, Cashfree has attracted around $95 million in investments from various sources, including Y Combinator, Smilegate Investments, and the State Bank of India (SBI). Notably, this marks the company’s first external fundraising initiative since June 2021.

Cashfree’s Payment Solutions

Cashfree Payments provides businesses with an efficient method to collect online payments, facilitate payouts, enhance conversion rates, and verify identities while detecting fraud during the KYC and onboarding processes. By partnering with popular platforms such as Shopify, Wix, WordPress, WooCommerce, and WhatsApp, Cashfree allows businesses to initiate transactions within a 24-hour timeframe.

Transaction Capabilities

The company, led by Akash Sinha, claims it can handle up to 12,000 transactions per second during peak demand for larger enterprises. Additionally, it has rolled out Embedded Payments, a feature that enables easy and compliant payment integration for platforms, ERPs, and SaaS businesses.

Recent Innovations

In response to the increase in fraudulent activities, Cashfree recently introduced Secure ID, a comprehensive identity verification suite equipped with an array of APIs and KYC components. According to the firm, Secure ID has successfully completed over 1 billion identity and user verifications to date.

Expansion Plans

In addition to its operations in India, Cashfree Payments is broadening its reach into the UAE, where it identifies significant growth opportunities in offering payment and related products throughout the Middle East.

Financial Performance

Although the company faced restrictions on onboarding new merchants for the majority of FY24, its revenue from operations grew by 4.7%, rising from Rs 613.8 crore in FY23 to Rs 642.7 crore. Conversely, Cashfree’s net loss held steady at Rs 135 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2024. The company primarily competes with other payment solutions like Razorpay, PayU, BillDesk, and CCAvenue.