My journey of being a changemaker at BharatPe

Karan Khanna

It was over four years ago that I had joined the passionate team of BharatPe that was determined to change the way India pays. I wasn’t naïve to the startup space. Earlier too, I had contributed significantly towards the growth of many established startups in the country. Today, as I look back at the journey from where I started, it seems nothing more than a dream come true.

Banking on BharatPe’s trust in me, I took this as an opportunity to start something from scratch. I knew that wallet was going off and UPI was the next big thing. Being an Ex-Zomato and Ex-Mobikwik, I was very well versed with the hustle and bustle of a startup ecosystem. I had joined BharatPe as the India Sales Head in October 2018 and the strategy was simple- to acquire as many merchants as possible in lesser time. I applied my expertise and experience along with deep understanding of the psyche of Indian merchants in terms of money matters to build and scale the brand equity of BharatPe. From hiring the right people at the perfect time in cognizance with my business strategy, everything was streamlined to the goal of launching BharatPe across the length and breadth of the country.

I am very proud of the way the company has expanded leaps and bounds. I was successful in marking the presence of BharatPe in the markets of Delhi NCR, Bengalore, Mumbai and Pune. Much to the glory, within 6 months of operation, the team had already acquired 5 lakhs merchants.

Tripping down the memory lane, I can never forget about 15th October 2019. That was the day when the company had hit a mark of 10 lakhs transactions/day. It was a big day for BharatPe as well as me. There was no turning back from then onwards. By December, we had already covered 32 cities. The hustler in me always craved for more. Win every step, I wanted to achieve more and take BharatPe one notch higher with each passing day. A year later, we were already rolling in more than 100 cities of India and revolutionizing the business journeys of the offline merchants and kirana stores of the country.

After successful stint as the India Sales Head, I was moved to Bharat Swipe (PoS) as the Business Head to lead and grow the new offering from BharatPe. With rigorous hardwork and an outstanding team , we had deployed 1.25 Lakhs+ machines in less than a year and launched our PoS machines in more than 200 cities.

As I recount the milestones achieved in the journey so far, it has nothing been more than amazing and satisfying for me. From starting operation in one city to expanding to 400+ cities today in a short span of four years to onboarding Salman Khan as the brand ambassador followed by sponsoring Big Boss season 13, which provided a great impetus to the merchant onboarding process. A strategic partnership with ICC for three years proved to be a turning point in the journey of BharatPe. The partnership has ensured BharatPe's involvement and integration at all ICC events throughout the term. Acquiring PAYBACK India was another feather in the cap. It is a matter of utmost pride for me that I was a part of the team that made BharatPe as the fastest growing Fintech startupin the country.

Now, it is the time to go full throttle and drive business for our loyalty major, PAYBACK. I moved to PAYBACK as Head Retail and Acquisition in 2022 and am now aggressively targeting organized trade merchants and focusing on neighborhood program for PAYBACK.

I aspire to make BharatPe as the number one Fintech destination of the country and until then, the ride is long and we have miles to go before we sleep.

Year of Inception
2018

It was four years ago that I had joined the passionate team of BharatPe that was determined to change the way India pays.

I had joined BharatPe as the VP Sales- India Head in October 2018. The strategy was simple- to acquire as many merchants as possible in lesser time.

I was successful in marking the presence of BharatPe in the markets of Delhi NCR, Bengalore, Mumbai and Pune.

An Eventful year
2019

The year was eventful for us.

We onboarded Salman Khan as our first Brand Ambassador in June 2019

It was 15th October 2019 when the company had hit a mark of 10 lakhs transactions/day. It was a big day for BharatPe as well as me.

By December, we had already covered 32 cities. The hustler in me always craved for more. Win every step, I wanted to achieve more and take BharatPe one notch higher with each passing day.

Finally, our hard work was paying off.

The hustle continues..
2020 & 2021

A year later, we were already rolling in more than 100 cities of India and revolutionizing the business journeys of the offline merchants and kirana stores of the country.

After successful stint as the India Sales Head in 2021, I was moved to Bharat Swipe (PoS) as the Business Head.

We had successfully deployed 1.25 Lakhs+ machines in less than a year and launched our PoS machines in more than 200 cities.

Joined PAYBACK as Head Retail and Acquisition
2022

I moved to PAYBACK as Head Retail and Acquisition in 2022

I along with my team, are aggressively targeting organized trade merchants and focusing on neighborhood program for PAYBACK.