SBI invests $20 mn in Pine Labs ahead of its IPO

 
Ahead of a likely US listing in mid-2022, merchants payments firm Pine Labs has raised $20 million from India’s largest lender, State Bank of India. This follows a $600 million capital raise by Pine Labs in 2021 from a marquee set of new investors and an additional $100 million fundraise from US-based Invesco Developing Markets Fund. Sources said that the fintech major may also raise an additional funding of $100-150 million in a large round before listing overseas.
 
In addition to augmenting its merchant commerce offerings at the offline point-of-sale, Pine Labs is now looking to invest in scaling Plural, its newly launched brand of online payment products and emerge as an omnichannel partner of choice for merchants.
 
"We are thrilled to have the largest bank in India, State Bank of India, place their trust in us and welcome them in this journey where we are empowering merchants with seamless and secure payment experiences across offline and online platforms. In the last one year, several marquee investors placed their trust in our business model and growth momentum and that is a gratifying feeling. This association with SBI is a personally satisfying experience as I had started my career selling financial services technology to SBI,” B Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine Labs, said in a statement.
 
Pine Labs is also expanding its Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) business across India and Southeast Asia. The company has entered the consumer payment space with its April 2021 acquisition of Fave, one of Southeast Asia’s leading consumer fintech platform, and has a leading presence in the gift, prepaid and stored value segment through its 2019 acquisition of Qwikcilver.