Fintech unicorn Razorpay has made a strategic entry into India’s booming consumer UPI segment by investing approximately $30 million in payments startup POP. This investment aims to help POP strengthen its product suite, grow its merchant base—particularly in the D2C and lifestyle sectors—and enhance its rewards system powered by POPcoins.
Razorpay’s Co-founder and CEO, Harshil Mathur, stated that the partnership aligns with their goal of boosting customer loyalty for D2C merchants, noting that POP offers a unique platform combining seamless payments, instant rewards, and brand discovery.
Founded in June 2024, POP operates a UPI-based app built around a rewards-first model. It allows users to earn and redeem POPcoins—a multi-brand, brand-funded loyalty currency—for discounts across a wide range of partner merchants. In its first year, POP has grown rapidly, clocking over 600,000 daily UPI transactions, crossing 1 million monthly active users, shipping over 200,000 orders monthly, and issuing 40,000+ RuPay credit cards in collaboration with Yes Bank.
POP Founder Bhargav Errangi emphasized the need for a loyalty-focused payment platform rather than just another cashback app, and said Razorpay’s backing would help scale their vision. POP now ranks 21st in India’s UPI ecosystem, having processed 13.6 million transactions worth over ₹500 crore in May 2025, according to NPCI data.
This investment follows Razorpay’s earlier acquisition of PoshVine to boost its loyalty tech stack under the Razorpay Engage banner. Meanwhile, India’s UPI market continues to be dominated by PhonePe and Google Pay, which command over 80% of transaction volumes. Other players like Paytm, Amazon Pay, and newcomers such as Jar—now a UPI TPAP with BharatPe and Unity SFB—are looking to gain a foothold through niche innovations.
The move also comes amidst ongoing discussions around the MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) policy. The finance ministry recently denied rumors of a new MDR levy on high-value UPI transactions, while earlier this year, the Payment Council of India urged the government to review the zero-MDR framework. As of early June, UPI has crossed over 640 million transactions in a day, surpassing Visa’s daily transaction average.
