PayU raises Mindgate stake to 70% as it explores UPI credit for merchants

PayU is deepening its bank-facing UPI infrastructure through Mindgate Solutions while exploring credit lines on UPI and a RuPay credit-card partnership, subject to RBI rules. The company is targeting profitable SMB payments and lending growth across its 450,000-plus Indian merchants.

— Source publishedTue, 28 Jul, 2026, 06:15 IST·First seen Tue, 28 Jul, 2026, 06:21 IST·Source Mint · Companies

What happened

PayU is exploring UPI credit lines and a possible bank partnership for RuPay credit cards, subject to RBI rules. It raised Mindgate ownership to 70% to deepen

Key facts

  • PayU increased its stake in Mindgate Solutions to 70%
  • PayU credit-business FY26 revenue: $204 million, up 19% from $171 million in FY25
  • PayU credit-business FY26 EBITDA: $6 million versus a $28 million loss in FY25
  • PayU payments FY26 revenue: $577 million, up 10% from $523 million in FY25
  • PayU payments FY26 EBITDA: $12 million versus $3 million in FY25
  • PayU serves more than 450,000 Indian merchants
  • Active Indian credit cards: 120.45 million in May
  • Credit-card spending: ₹2.03 trillion
  • Potential illustrative UPI credit line: ₹50,000 repayable over six months
  • Standard domestic card/payment-gateway pricing: 1.5-2%
  • Target SMB/SME merchants: annual turnover below ₹25 crore

Why this matters

Mindgate gives PayU deeper UPI infrastructure and bank relationships, making a RuPay credit-card partnership or UPI credit expansion strategically attractive if RBI rules permit.

What to watch

  • RBI clarification or rule changes covering credit lines on UPI, RuPay credit cards on UPI, digital lending, and fintech-bank data flows.
  • Evidence of Mindgate winning additional bank mandates or becoming embedded in PayU's UPI merchant-routing infrastructure.
  • Growth in PayU merchant payment volume, take rate, active merchant count, and share of revenue from non-UPI value-added services.
  • Credit disbursal growth, repeat-borrower rates, delinquency trends, provisioning, and whether credit EBITDA remains positive through expansion.
  • Announcements of RuPay, NPCI, issuer-bank, or large merchant-platform partnerships.
  • Competitive responses from PhonePe, Google Pay, Razorpay, Pine Labs, BharatPe, and bank-led UPI credit programs.
  • Increase Mindgate integration with PayU's merchant acquiring, reconciliation, fraud, and bank-partnership systems.
  • Pilot UPI-linked merchant and consumer credit products with partner banks, likely prioritizing established SMBs with strong transaction histories.
  • Expand RuPay credit-card-on-UPI acceptance and issuer partnerships if RBI rules permit broader deployment.
  • Shift merchant growth toward profitable cohorts by bundling payments, settlement, lending, and risk-management tools.
  • Use improved credit EBITDA to tighten underwriting while expanding pre-approved working-capital offers to active merchants.