Cashfree Payments rolls out ESOP buyback for over 400 employees
The buyback, which marks 10 years since the launch of the payments firm, includes 175 former employees.
Cashfree Payments has launched an employee stock option (ESOP) buyback covering over 400 current and former employees, as the payments firm marks a decade since it was founded.
The ESOP buyback includes 175 former employees, and comes as the Bengaluru-based company moves into a new 80,000-square-foot headquarters at Ecoworld, a large business park in the city.
Cashfree did not disclose the size of the buyback.
"As a company that has always put employee wellbeing first, we see ESOPs not merely as a retention tool or a future promise, but as a tangible way to participate in wealth creation and ownership," said Akash Sinha, CEO & Co-founder, Cashfree Payments.
"Whether someone is building with us today or helped lay the foundation in our early years, this buyback is about recognising real contribution and sharing the outcomes of growth. As we continue to scale India’s payments and identity infrastructure, our commitment remains to build a company where progress and prosperity are shared," he added.
Founded in 2015, Cashfree Payments provides payment processing and identity verification services to businesses in India. The company said it processes more than $80 billion in annual payment volumes and serves over 1 million merchants, including Zepto, RedBus, Swiggy and Nykaa.
The fintech firm raised $53 million in a funding round led by South Korean gaming giant KRAFTON last year, with participation from existing investor Apis Growth Fund II.
Cashfree, which is also backed by Y Combinator and State Bank of India, was incubated by global online payment platform PayPal.
The ESOP buyback coincides with Cashfree’s expansion in cross-border payments. The company has received a payment aggregator-cross border licence from the Reserve Bank of India, covering both exports and imports. It has reported a 250% growth in gross merchandise value from its cross-border business over the past year.
Cross-border payments currently account for about 10% of the company's revenue, and Cashfree is targeting nearly 25% by 2030, according to a statement by the company.
Edited by Swetha Kannan