Razorpay, co-founded by Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar, has emerged as a leading player in India’s online payment ecosystem, navigating early skepticism and fierce competition to process billions in transactions. With the Indian payments market set to double by 2031, Razorpay is betting on product expansion, AI innovation, and regional growth across Southeast Asia. Backed by $742 million in funding and a valuation of $7.5 billion, the company eyes profitability across verticals and is preparing for an IPO within the next three years.
Razorpay co-founder Harshil Mathur vividly remembers being brushed off by scores of bankers when he first pitched an online payment gateway solution for small businesses. It was a tough sell in 2013—Mathur, then 23 and armed only with a mechanical engineering degree and zero finance experience, struggled to gain traction in a sector governed by strict security protocols and conservative stakeholders.
“We felt like we weren’t being taken seriously,” recalls Mathur, now CEO of Razorpay.
Back then, Mathur and co-founder Shashank Kumar were two young dreamers navigating a skeptical financial landscape. The turning point came when HDFC Bank agreed to partner with them—provided they could deposit ₹2.5 million (about $40,000). With only ₹1 million raised to start the company, they turned to Kumar’s grandfather, who dipped into his life savings to help them meet the requirement.
What followed was a decade of relentless hustle.
From Scrappy Startup to Fintech Giant
Over ten years, Razorpay evolved from a niche payment processor into one of India’s largest fintech platforms. They didn’t just process payments—they built a full suite of merchant services including international transfers, real-time payments, lending, digital banking, and point-of-sale systems. Along the way, they acquired eight companies spanning fraud detection, digital invoicing, and payroll management.
This multi-pronged approach paid off. In the fiscal year ending March 2024, Razorpay reported revenue of ₹25 billion ($300 million), a nearly 10% increase from the previous year. Their total payment volume reached ₹15 billion, up from ₹12.6 billion.
Razorpay’s consistent revenue growth over five years (Source: Razorpay)
The company serves over 5 million merchants, including 86 of India’s top 100 unicorns, and derives over 70% of its revenue from processing fees, which average 1.75% per transaction.
Riding India’s Digital Payment Boom
India’s digital economy is exploding. According to RBI and Mordor Intelligence, the country’s payment gateway market is expected to more than double from $37 trillion in 2025 to $76 trillion by 2031.
Projected growth of India’s digital payments market through 2031 (Source: RBI and Mordor Intelligence)
Razorpay is determined to capture a significant share of this expanding market. “This is a reachable goal given the kind of products and focus that we have,” says Kumar.
New product offerings, such as R.A.Y. (Razorpay Assistant for You)—an AI-driven payments concierge—are helping Razorpay drive deeper merchant engagement. More than 70% of clients now use two or more of its products.
Profits, Expansion, and IPO Plans
In fiscal 2024, Razorpay’s net profit surged nearly fivefold to ₹340 million from ₹73 million the previous year. While its banking and lending arms are not yet profitable, they are growing rapidly. “As the payments business scales, it will fund the other businesses, which will eventually become profitable,” says Mathur.
The company is also eyeing international expansion. Razorpay entered Southeast Asia via the $20 million acquisition of Curlec in Malaysia in 2022, and opened a Singapore office in March 2025. By 2030, it expects 15% of revenue to come from Southeast Asia, with plans to enter the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Challenges Ahead—and a Race to the IPO
Razorpay’s last funding round in 2021 valued the firm at $7.5 billion, bringing total funds raised to $742 million. Both Mathur and Kumar now have an estimated net worth of $1 billion each.
Despite its momentum, the road ahead is not without challenges. Competitors like PayPal, PayU, PhonePe, and Cashfree Payments are fiercely contesting market share.
To solidify its lead, Razorpay is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) within the next two to three years. The plan involves shifting headquarters to Bangalore, though the move could cost up to $300 million in U.S. capital gains taxes. “A small price to pay,” says Mathur. “This is our home market.”
Rooted in Startups, Committed to Small Businesses
Mathur insists Razorpay’s core mission remains unchanged: empowering startups and small businesses. A defining moment came in 2020 when the RBI froze withdrawals from Yes Bank. With 30% of Razorpay’s funds tied up, the team had to choose between settling dues for their largest clients or 20,000 small merchants. They chose the latter.
“We literally took a call in the middle of the night to support the small businesses because they needed the money more,” says Mathur.
What’s Next?
“There are a lot more laps to be run,” says Ishaan Mittal of Peak XV Partners, an early investor in Razorpay. With an IPO on the horizon and aggressive global expansion in motion, Razorpay is racing ahead—but its biggest tests are yet to come.
As India’s digital payment landscape doubles in size, Razorpay’s next chapter will determine whether it remains the frontrunner—or becomes one of many players in a rapidly evolving race.
