Mumbai-based Electronic Payment and Services Pvt Ltd (EPS), which is engaged in retail banking technology and automated teller machine (ATM) services, has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Apis Partners LLP.
The UK-based PE firm that focuses on financial services companies in Africa and Asia will get a minority stake and board representation in EPS, it said on Thursday.
“With this funding, we will enhance EPS’ business portfolio and seek to penetrate the untapped potential of semi-urban and rural India under the financial inclusion plan initiated by the government,” said EPS founder Mani Mamallan.
“The investment in EPS is the type of opportunity that drove us to establish Apis: providing catalytic equity capital to entrepreneurial financial infrastructure businesses in growth markets, fostering economic growth and enabling financial inclusion” said Matteo Stefanel, Apis co-founder and managing partner.
“We are excited to work with Apis on accelerating our expansion," said Mamallan said. He said the company is looking at inorganic opportunities to grow its business. Founded in 2011, EPS is headquartered in Mumbai.
Earlier, in first three rounds of funding, EPS had raised around $20 million from PE investors Aavishkaar, Aavishkaar GoodWell and FMO, a Netherlands-based developmental financial institution.
It, however, could not be ascertained whether any of the existing investors part-exited in this round, as an emailed query seeking further information went unanswered.
EPS has so far deployed over 5,000 ATMs for 26 banks in urban and rural locations across India.
Intellecap acted as adviser to EPS for the transaction.
