India’s digital payments firm Cashfree announced on Wednesday that it has raised $53 million in a funding round led by South Korea’s Krafton Inc. and UK-based private equity firm Apis Partners.
While the company did not disclose its valuation, a source familiar with the matter said Cashfree is now valued at $700 million.
The fresh capital is expected to strengthen Cashfree’s payment offerings and expand market outreach. The company aims to leverage synergies with Krafton, fostering innovation across multiple digital sectors. As part of its broader tech solutions, Cashfree has built Secure ID, an identity verification stack with a suite of APIs and KYC tools to combat rising fraud in digital transactions.
Best known for its battle royale games Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and PUBG, Krafton has invested over $130 million in Indian startups since 2021. The company is actively expanding its portfolio beyond gaming, targeting Esports, multimedia entertainment, content creation, and audio platforms.
In 2023, Krafton had announced plans to invest $150 million in India’s gaming ecosystem over the next two to three years.
According to Tracxn, India is home to 2,747 payment startups, including Razorpay, Paytm, PhonePe, BharatPe, and MobiKwik. Of these, 494 startups are funded, with 175 securing Series A+ funding and 10 achieving unicorn status.
The Indian payments sector has raised over $12.4 billion in funding over the past decade, with 2021 seeing a record $3.57 billion in investments.
Recent funding raised by payment firms in India

In FY25, Cashfree witnessed a 130% increase in merchant signups compared to previous years. The company anticipates strong revenue growth, driven by higher wallet share from existing customers and success in cross-selling its services.
“India’s fintech industry is experiencing remarkable growth, and we believe Cashfree Payments’s dominant position in India can be replicated globally,” said Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of Krafton India. “As India’s media and entertainment sector evolves, full-stack payment systems tailored for this space will be crucial for enhancing user experience.”
The investment was also led by Apis Growth Fund II, a fund managed by Apis Partners, which oversees $2.3 billion in assets. Apis is an impact-focused private equity firm backing growth-stage financial services companies with a strong product-market fit.
Apis’s other India-focused investments include MoneyView, RenewBuy, and Hero FinCorp.
Just last week, Indian edtech startup Leap — which helps students study abroad — raised $65 million in a mix of primary and secondary equity, led by Apis Partners.