Razorpay launches its own app store for SMEs
Razorpay also aims to enter newer segments of B2B payments through the launch of its RazorpayX Vendor payout solution that will let businesses automate vendor payments and process bulk payouts. There are currently not many products we see for SMEs, unlike in the US and other markets. Hence, we are trying to change that through our business banking solutions and new introductions such as the B2B app store," Harshil Mathur, Razorpay’s chief executive and co-founder said in an interview.
The company which raised $100 million in October, will set up a ₹1 crore fund for app developers looking to build products for Indian SMEs, as it launches its own B2B App Store
BENGALURU: Razorpay, which became a unicorn recently, will launch products such as health insurance on its platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through partners, as it continues to grow its business offerings.
The Bengaluru-based startup will also add Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali languages with more merchants signing up on its platform in small cities and towns.
Razorpay’s merchant base in Tier 3 and 4 cities grew to 15% of the total 5 million merchants it has on its platform currently, up from 5% a year earlier. This came on the back of covid-19 accelerating digital adoption for the offline economy. The company, which raised $100 million from Singapore’s GIC Pte Ltd and existing investor Sequoia India in October, will also set up a ₹1 crore fund for app developers who aim to build products for local SMEs as it launches its own business-to-business (B2B) app store.
Razorpay also plans to double its growth metrics in 2021 and reach $50 billion in annualized payment value by the end of next year, it said.
In October, bigger rival Paytm also announced its mini app store for consumers to break the monopoly of Google Play Store, which announced imposing a 30% commission on in-app purchases for developers from April 2022.
“For years, there has been more innovation happening on the consumer side, than for businesses. The coming year will be the time for business-to-business (B2B) innovation and B2B companies like us are focusing on the merchant side. There are currently not many products we see for SMEs, unlike in the US and other markets. Hence, we are trying to change that through our business banking solutions and new introductions such as the B2B app store," Harshil Mathur, Razorpay’s chief executive and co-founder said in an interview.
Razorpay also aims to enter newer segments of B2B payments through the launch of its RazorpayX Vendor payout solution that will let businesses automate vendor payments and process bulk payouts.
For its insurance offering, it has partnered insurtech startup Plum and ICICI Lombard to cover employees of businesses with teams as small as two members.
To boost consumer confidence in small businesses, it launched Razorpay Trusted Badge, which is available on the checkout page for select businesses with superior customer and payment experience.
Razorpay, with 1,300 employees, has two lines of businesses besides payments, Razorpay X and Razorpay Capital, launched in 2018. Razorpay X allows users to open current accounts through two banking partners and provides employee management solutions relating to payrolls and has almost 10,000 businesses using the platform. Razorpay Capital acts as a loan marketplace and works with five non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) along with two banking partners to provide working capital loans to business partners.
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