Razorpay extends ESOPs worth Rs 1 lakh to all employees

24 Dec 2024, 07:35 PM

The company, which marks its 10th anniversary, announced its first ESOP buyback in 2018, followed by a $75 million ESOP buyback in 2022.

Team Head&Tale

Marking its 10th anniversary, digital payments company Razorpay said it is extending Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) worth 1 lakh to all its current employees.

The company announced its first ESOP buyback in 2018, which allowed 140 employees to liquidate their vested shares; and a $75 million ESOP buyback in 2022 benefiting 650 existing and former employees.

Razorpay claims to serve over 300 million end consumers across India, and boasts an annualised total payment volume (TPV) of $180 billion.
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Reflecting on the last decade, Harshil Mathur, co-founder and CEO, Razorpay said, "While we’re proud and humbled by how far we’ve come, this 10-year milestone is only the beginning of a much larger journey that lies ahead. The ESOP initiative is our way of ensuring every teammate shares in the success as we continue to innovate, simplify money movement, and create even greater value for businesses in India and beyond."

Recently, the company partnered with venture capital funds Peak XV and Lightspeed to launch Razorpay Venture Investment Program. The Bengaluru-based fintech firm aims to invest in over 50 early-stage, visionary founders with a target of 10-15 startups every year.

Through this programme, the company -- which plans to invest up to $1 million per startup -- will offer funding, technology, and leadership support to B2B startups across various development stages. The Razorpay Venture Investment Program is designed to support startups from pre-seed to Series A, spanning industries such as fintech, e-commerce, retail, travel, education, healthcare, logistics, hospitality, mobility, and exports. 

The programme will be led by Vishnu Acharya, Razorpay’s head of strategy and corporate development. It offers access to Razorpay’s API stack and sandbox environments; funding up to $1 million per startup; introduction to Razorpay’s distribution network, product partnerships, and customer connections; and mentorship.

In FY24, Razorpay reported a 24% jump in revenues for its payment gateway (PG) business. Despite facing over nine months ban on new merchant onboarding during the financial year, the fintech’s PG business generated revenue of Rs 2,068 crore.

During this period, its total income stood at Rs 2,501 crore as compared to Rs 2,293 crore reported in FY23.

It posted profit after tax of Rs 34 crore in the last fiscal year from Rs 7 crore in FY23.