Mastercard invests in Temasek-backed POS provider Pine Labs

Pine Labs, an Indian merchant commerce platform, announced that it has secured investment from Mastercard.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Photo credit: cookelma / 123RF Stock Photo

However, the Economic Times previously reported that the transaction could boost Pine Labs’ valuation to more than US$1 billion.

With the partnership, Pine Labs and Mastercard will deliver a range of services that includes card payments, real-time installment financing at checkout (both in-store and online), as well as end-to-end stored-value solutions that seek to replace the current paper-based solutions.

“Smart devices are transforming how people shop. With this partnership, we’re continuing to build innovative solutions and provide people with new ways to pay right at their fingertips,” said Ari Sarker, co-president for Asia Pacific at Mastercard, in a statement.

The collaboration looks to capitalize on the growing demand for “buy now, pay later” options among the digital-savvy middle class in South Asia, which is a fast-growing market.

According to a report cited in the announcement, the market opportunity in India for installment-based payments on consumer goods will hit US$16.9 billion in 2021 and is expected to jump to US$52.5 billion in 2025.

Pine Labs began as an offline retail payment provider. Now, its cloud-based platform enables it to offer payment acceptance solutions, stored-value products, in-store consumer credit, and other merchant solutions in India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. It claims to process US$30 billion in payments per year, serving some 140,000 merchants across about 450,000 network points.

It’s backed by Sequoia India, Temasek, and PayPal, among others.