PayU India has shut its prepaid payment instrument LazyCard that it launched at the beginning of 2022, the company’s parent Prosus said in its half-yearly report.
The closure helped the company narrow its losses of payments and fintech segment to $22 million during the six-month period ended September 2023. The drop of $62 million was also aided by improved profitability in global payments organisations and the Turkey business, the company said.
The fintech firm had forayed into the prepaid card segment with LazyCard in January 2022 as a part of its lending unit LazyPay. The company had planned to offer a credit line in partnership with SBM Bank India.
LazyPay reportedly considered a shift to credit cards after the Reserve Bank of India came up with norms that did not permit non-bank lenders, including fintech compaines, to offer prepaid credit lines.
Like LazyPay, many well-funded startups including Slice and Uni, among others, have reviewed their offerings.
Meanwhile, Prosus said the consolidated revenue of the payments and fintech segment grew 21% to $497 million in the first half of the year, driven by India payments, India credit, and Turkey.
The India business—its largest contributor–grew 15% to $211 million during the period, driven by growth from existing merchants, Wibmo and its omnichannel business.
Prosus is aiming for a listing of PayU India in the next six months, according to a report by Bloomberg.
