Visa takes minority stake in Indian payment gateway BillDesk

Payments processor Visa Inc said on Friday it is taking a minority stake in Indian payment gateway BillDesk, as it seeks to grab a bigger slice of one of the fastest growing digital payments markets in the world.

Both companies did not disclose the terms of the deal, but the local media had reported a few months ago that Visa was looking to invest close to $250 million in BillDesk, valuing the company at around $1.5 billion-$2 billion.

The investment follows comments from India's finance minister last week that Visa and rival Mastercard were losing market share to domestic payments networks.

Earlier, Mastercard had complained to the U.S. government that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was using nationalism to promote a local rival.

Visa’s investment in BillDesk is expected to have no direct bearing on its existing India business, the company said in a statement.
Mumbai-based BillDesk processes over $60 billion of digital payments a year and provides customers payment options, including credit cards and online wallets, to carry out purchases.

The company earns by charging commission from clients on these transactions.