PayU operational profit turns positive in FY26 after exit from low-margin businesses

Prosus-owned PayU reported its first operational profit in FY26, helped by exiting low-margin lines. The Dutch investment firm said PayU made an operational profit of USD 18 million, or about Rs 1,701 crore. Revenue rose to USD 781 million, or about Rs 7,379 crore, as EBITDA turned positive at USD 18 million.

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The company posted an operational profit of USD 19 million in the second half of FY26. PayU recorded a loss of USD 1 million in the first half. Prosus linked the improvement to a shift away from negative-margin portfolios. It also pointed to gains from lower costs per transaction in key payment segments.

PayU payments revenue, TPV and UPI-led growth

PayU processed USD 90 billion in TPV during FY26. Payment revenue rose to USD 577 million, with an EBITDA of USD 12 million. Prosus said growth came from lower-value, UPI-heavy categories like quick commerce and bill payments. The payments business contributed 74 per cent of PayU’s total revenue.

Prosus said PayU targeted faster payment-processing growth in selected areas. At the same time, PayU exited businesses with negative margins. Prosus said this approach helped lift payments EBITDA four times to USD 12 million. Higher-margin VAS and software-as-a-service offerings made up 33 per cent of payments revenue.

PayU Mindgate and Wibmo role in UPI and card transactions

PayU used the Mindgate acquisition to create a proprietary third-party application provider stack. It also built a person-to-merchant switch, Prosus said. The firm said better transaction success rates should help roll out new UPI-based services for merchants. PayU works through Mindgate and Wibmo with banks on major payment flows.

Prosus said PayU helps Indian banks process one in every two UPI transactions. The firm also supports three of every four credit card transactions. Prosus linked these capabilities to scale in payments operations. It also said the cost per transaction fell as volumes grew in UPI-heavy segments.

PayU credit business profitability and EBITDA shift

Prosus credited PayU’s credit business for supporting the move towards profitability. The credit unit delivered an operational profit of USD 6 million. Credit revenue grew to USD 204 million in FY26. Prosus said growth was 19 per cent, or 26 per cent in local currency terms.

PayU’s credit EBITDA was USD 6 million in FY26. That compared with a loss of USD 28 million in FY25, Prosus said. The firm described this as a pivot to profitability. Prosus also said PayU planned generative AI-native products across payments, SaaS and credit.

PayU portfolio links with Swiggy, Meesho and Ixigo

Prosus said PayU gained from deeper links with its India portfolio. PayU holds a 16.24 per cent stake in Ixigo. It also holds 23.52 per cent in Rapido and 22.31 per cent in Swiggy. Prosus said PayU increased processing of Swiggy’s GMV by five times year-on-year.

Prosus said PayU’s partnership with Meesho raised loan originations by over 100 per cent. The increase covered both consumers and merchants within nine months. Separately, Prosus said PayU’s handling of ixigo’s UPI volumes grew 50 per cent in one month. These ties supported both payments and credit growth.

"Our strategic objective remains to unlock substantial value in the everyday economies of our large-scale regional lifestyle e-commerce ecosystems spanning LatAm, India and Europe,\" Prosus said. The firm linked PayU’s FY26 profit to portfolio choices and product mix changes. It also cited scale gains in UPI-led payments and improving performance in credit.

With inputs from PTI