PayU, a provider of online payment services and the fintech arm of Naspers, has acquired Wibmo, a California-based digital payment security and mobile payment technology firm, for $70m.

PayU

Image: PayU acquires Wibmo. Photo: Courtesy of rawpixel/Pixabay.

PayU said that the acquisition will integrate its merchant network with Wibmo’s digital transaction security solutions to provide new payment solutions for merchants and financial institutions in India and other high growth markets.

Wibmo offers digital payment services and integrates with banks in more than 20 countries. It offers payment authentication and risk-based decisioning across online and mobile payment transactions.

Through the acquisition, PayU is said to build a digital payment ecosystem that can harmonize transaction processing on both the issuing and the acquiring side and deliver a seamless payment experience.

Furthermore, PayU and Wibmo will work with merchants and financial institutions to offer targeted payment solutions using data from Indian consumers annually.

The payment provider believes that the deal will boost its credit business using big data to power credit across several online and offline merchants by collaborating with lending companies.

PayU Global chief financial officer Aakash Moondhra said: “India is a priority market for PayU and we are committed to making digital payments frictionless through our innovative products and services, supporting the Government’s vision of a digital India.

“PayU’s technologically future-ready products are defining and reinventing India’s payments landscape, supporting the country’s transition to a cashless, digital economy.

“Through the acquisition of Wibmo, our endeavour is to positively impact and add value to the entire ecosystem including banks, consumers and merchants, with the combined service offerings of PayU and Wibmo.

“We will partner with leading banks to enable digital banking, merchants will gain with higher conversions rates and increased sales, and consumers will have a frictionless experience in completing digital payments transactions.”

Wibmo founder and CEO Govind Setlur said: “PayU has evolved within the complex payments landscape to become India’s biggest online payments processor, serving more than 350,000 merchants.

“We are excited to embark on this next chapter of Wibmo’s growth with PayU. By combining our track record and expertise in payment security and mobile payments with PayU’s strong merchant network and heritage in payments, the combined entity will be focussed on delivering more secure and seamless payments experience to its customers.”