Indian startup Mintoak, which offers merchant payment solutions to lenders, announced on Tuesday that it had acquired Digiledge in a deal valued at approximately $3.5 million. This marks the first acquisition in the emerging central bank digital currency (CBDC) sector.
The Reserve Bank of India launched a pilot for the e-rupee, a digital alternative to physical currency, in December 2022. In April 2023, it expanded the scope of transactions to include payment firms after initially restricting it to banks.
Mintoak, backed by PayPal and HDFC Bank, has completed its acquisition of Digiledge, a company specializing in CBDC and bill payment services, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
Mintoak, based in Mumbai, stated that the acquisition will allow its partner banks, including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and SBI, to provide more extensive CBDC-related payment solutions to their customers.
“By adding Digiledge’s bill payments and CBDC capabilities, we are making it easier for merchant acquirers to grow and help more small and medium enterprises access digital tools and financial services,” Mintoak CEO Raman Khanduja said.
In January, Cred and MobiKwik became the first fintech platforms to offer customers access to the CBDC.
According to a Reuters report from August 2024, Alphabet’s Google Pay, Walmart-backed PhonePe, and Amazon Pay are among the payment companies looking to participate in the pilot.
