Merchant payments and financial services provider BharatPe said on Thursday that it has initiated plans to help its 7.5 million merchants roll out loyalty programmes.
PAYBACK India, which BharatPe acquired earlier in June, announced the launch of its PAY feature which will help users make payments through quick response (QR) codes while earning and redeeming their loyalty points at even small merchant outlets.
PAYBACK will be opening this payment feature to its 130 million members.
“Last year PAYBACK drove GMV (gross merchandise value) of $8 billion for partner merchants,” said Ashneer Grover, co-founder and managing director of BharatPe.
Earlier in June this year, BharatPe acquired PAYBACK India for roughly $30 million, giving an exit to American Express and ICICI Investments Strategic Fund.
Through loyalty and payment features, BharatPe is also expected to roll out a consumer credit line as well as ‘buy now pay later’ credit features within the PAYBACK ecosystem.
Currently, PAYBACK has over 100 direct and indirect partners across both in-store and online categories. The partner portfolio covers multiple categories across retail, fuel, banking, payments, entertainment, hospitality and travel.
Partners include ICICI Bank, HPCL, bookmyshow, Thomas Cook India, Amazon, and Flipkart.
Earlier this year, merchant fintech Pine Labs acquired Singapore-based loyalty cashback platform Fave to provide consumer loyalty services to its merchant partners. It was also looking to enter into consumer payments in India by launching Fave, similar to BharatPe’s PAYBACK.