Category: Press

MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur, 26 October 2023

Curlec by Razorpay, the full-stack payments solution provider, today announced that it is now a member of the national payments network and infrastructure, Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet). 

As the first new member of PayNet since 2019, Curlec is now empowered to drive the adoption of real-time payment processing across a wider cross-section of Malaysia than before. Curlec’s membership to PayNet will see the former adopting the DuitNow product suite, allowing their customers to make and receive real-time payments from bank accounts and e-wallets. The move allows Curlec to support BNM’s aspirations to create a cashless society.

As a member of Paynet, Curlec will be able to leverage innovations that the Razorpay Group has built around real-time payments in India, the world’s largest market for digital payments. This technology was the first to market India’s real-time payments solution, the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), which processed 74 billion transactions in 2022 and has been growing on an average of 380% since its inception in 2016. Curlec believes that this technology will prove instrumental to the adoption of DuitNow payments in Malaysia, due to the scale and success achieved in the Indian market.

Zac Liew, Co-Founder & CEO of Curlec by Razorpay hailed Curlec’s newfound access to DuitNow via its membership to PayNet, “It excites us to see the momentum our ‘Payments Uncompromised’ approach is building, especially by becoming the newest member of PayNet since 2019. Since launching our Payment Gateway in July, we are now processing in excess of RM2 billion annually and serving over 1,000 merchants. This sets the platform for Curlec to bring further innovation to Malaysia’s digital payment landscape, as well as scale DuitNow to the next level with our expertise in real-time payments – both in India and Malaysia.”

Liew added, “Malaysia continues to take steps through its financial blueprint towards a cashless society with the aim of e-payment per capita increasing at over a 15% CAGR by 2026. The target growth of Malaysia’s digital payments sets the path for The Curlec Payment Gateway’s target to serve more than 5,000 businesses with RM10 billion annualised gross transaction value (GTV) by 2025.“

Rahul Kothari, Chief Business Officer, Razorpay expressed enthusiasm for their substantial investment in Malaysia’s domestic payment ecosystem, “Today’s event marks a significant milestone for Curlec by Razorpay. We are thrilled to become a member of PayNet and we’re proud to support Bank Negara’s vision of empowering consumers and businesses of Malaysia to become a cashless society. Malaysia is an important strategic market for us as we see plenty of similarities with the Indian payments market, and this membership reinforces our commitment to delivering world-class technology on a global scale. I believe that we can help play a pivotal role in driving the adoption of DuitNow, similar to how we helped scale UPI in India.” 

Gary Yeoh, CCO, PayNet said, “Malaysia’s Financial Sector blueprint seeks to futureproof key digital infrastructures to enable more digital finance solutions, and Curlec’s Payment Gateway is a welcome addition to our momentum in the blueprint. Digital transactions per capita have more than quadrupled, hiking from 49 in 2011 to over 221 in 2022. With the expectation that the number will reach over 400 by 2026, Curlec’s adoption of DuitNow is another ship lifted on the rising tide of digital payments.”

Curlec, regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia, is trusted by over 1,000 businesses, including some of Malaysia’s most prominent brands like Tune Protect, CTOS, Mary Kay, and The National Kidney Foundation.

• Curlec by Razorpay India aims to make payments uncompromised, bridging the gap between local and international payment gateways
• Targets RM10 billion annualised gross transaction value (GTV) in Malaysia by end-2025 
• Aims to serve 5,000+ business by end-2025

MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur, 12 July 2023: After five years of disrupting the recurring payments sector (aka subscriptions) in Malaysia, local fintech Curlec – having been acquired by Indian Fintech Unicorn Razorpay last year – has transitioned from a dedicated recurring payments solution to a full stack payment gateway for businesses of all sizes. Curlec by Razorpay combines India’s world-class tech capabilities with a deep local understanding of the Malaysian payments ecosystem. It aims to provide businesses with a payment gateway that accepts payments, automates payouts and helps them focus on their customers. By harnessing the Razorpay technology that powers 10 million businesses in India, the all-new Curlec Payment Gateway promises to offer an uncompromised payment experience to Malaysian merchants.

The Curlec Payment Gateway will serve more than 5,000 businesses with a target of RM10 billion in annualised Gross Transaction Value (GTV) by 2025. The growth is driven by Malaysia’s fast-growing digital economy (projected to be worth $35 billion in Gross Merchandising Value by 2025), high mobile-phone penetration rate, and strong government support for the digital economy. Malaysia’s real-time payments system, also known as DuitNow, is another key catalyst for merchant acceptance of cashless payments and has significantly aided the emergence of mobile transactions. Given the fast-growing economies of Malaysia and the broader Southeast Asia region, the scope and need for more robust, reliable, and advanced payment solutions is undeniable.

In leveraging Razorpay India’s industry-first solutions and its extensive experience working with multiple sectors, Curlec intends to incorporate the same innovative technologies that proved successful in the Indian market.

Commenting on the first international launch of its Payment Gateway, Shashank Kumar, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Razorpay said, “We see great potential in the Southeast Asian market and are delighted to announce the launch of our first international payment gateway in Malaysia. We recognise the power of payments in Malaysia and what it means for businesses of all sizes, regardless of sector. Our extensive experience operating in India’s diverse and dynamic market has prepared us to pursue growth on a global scale. When we joined forces with Curlec a year ago, our vision was to build products that cater to the needs of Southeast Asian users. The unveiling of the new Curlec Payment Gateway today is a first step in that direction.“

Kumar added, “We believe the new payment gateway will revolutionise how Malaysian businesses and end-consumers transact and engage with each other. Going forward, I believe that collaboration, innovation, and customer-centricity will be the three keys to unlocking the potential of digital payments and driving economic growth in Malaysia.”

Zac Liew, Co-Founder & CEO of Curlec by Razorpay said, “We are very excited about bringing a first-of-its-kind offering to Malaysian businesses. With the launch of the Curlec Payment Gateway, we are now a full-stack payment solutions provider, having combined the expertise of both Curlec and Razorpay India. We hope to build on our recent significant traction, notably in insurance, lending, and savings, where we tracked a 110% increase in transaction volumes.  With Curlec providing an unrivalled payment experience for our customers, we are targeting 10X growth by 2025.”

“Driven by the goal of simplifying payments for Malaysian startups and enterprises, Curlec will continue to build a stronger focus on customer needs, and the new payment gateway will help Malaysian businesses scale seamlessly with industry-first solutions and uncompromised support,” Liew added. 

Curlec by Razorpay is trusted by over 700 businesses ranging from SMEs to enterprises, and has improved payments for some of Malaysia’s biggest brands including Tune Protect, CTOS, Courts, Mary Kay and The National Kidney Foundation.

Kuala Lumpur, 8 February 2022 – Curlec is proud to announce the acquisition of a majority stake in our business by RazorPay, India’s leading Payments and Banking Platform for Businesses as part of its first international expansion into Southeast Asia. This marks Razorpay’s fourth acquisition overall and its first in international waters.

Razorpay, recently crowned as India’s Most Valued Private Fintech company, serves over 8 million businesses including the likes of Facebook, Ola, Zomato, Swiggy, Cred and achieved $60 Bn Total Payment Volume (TPV) as of early December 2021. The Fintech Unicorn is at the forefront of India’s digital financial revolution building the central nervous system for Digital India, with clear dominance in digital payments and its fast growing business neobanking arm, RazorpayX. 

Leading the baton of innovation within the region, Curlec builds new-age technology solutions on top of existing payments infrastructure to make it easier for businesses of all sizes to collect recurring payments and take control of their cash flow. This acquisition marks an exciting new stage for Curlec, as both companies look to build and scale seamless payment solutions for Malaysian businesses, as well as enable global payments for the Indian businesses through this acquisition. 

“We are incredibly excited to be combining forces with Harshil, Shashank and the Razorpay team. We’ve long admired what they’ve built in India from afar and are fully aligned with a common vision of building payment and banking solutions from top to bottom, for any business. We look forward to the next phase of our journey and scaling together across Malaysia and Southeast Asia,” said Zac Liew, Co-Founder & CEO of Curlec.  

Commenting on Razorpay’s first international expansion, Harshil Mathur, CEO and Co-Founder, Razorpay said, “With Curlec coming onboard, we at Razorpay are really excited as we mark our first step towards expanding in the South East Asia region. With the vast experience in a heterogenous market like India over the last seven years, our expansion to the Southeast Asia payments market is timed exactly to coincide with the company’s growing dominance in all things payments.” 

He added, “The team and values of Curlec mirrors that of ours in every sense. It is incredible to witness the scale of impact that Zac, Steve and the Curlec team have created in such a short span of time. Curlec has a similar culture like Razorpay and the same product and tech first philosophy of building products and delighting customers. And so, we are eagerly waiting to work with Curlec’s incredible talent and strength.  With a measured approach, we look forward to learning the nuances of Malaysia, their business and customer needs, and slowly adapt and build products tailored to the SEA geography. Together, we are confident that we will be optimally positioned to take on the unique challenges that both India & Malaysian markets put forth, and look forward to reimagining and transforming the payments ecosystem in South-East Asia.”  

For more information on the story, visit RazorPay’s blog post here or media coverage on FinTech News Malaysia, The Economic Times India, Astro Awani, MalayMail, Deal Street Asia.