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Payment Giants Razorpay and Cashfree End Ties with Juspay, Following PhonePe’s Lead

Leading payment aggregators Razorpay and Cashfree have decided to halt their partnerships with Juspay, a major payment orchestration platform. The announcement comes after PhonePe severed ties with Juspay in December 2024, a move that appears to have sparked a broader reevaluation of the platform’s role in the payments ecosystem.

Why Razorpay and Cashfree Made the Move

Both Razorpay and Cashfree emphasized their shift toward direct integrations, citing the need for better feature delivery and improved merchant support.

“We plan to transition away from integrations via third-party routers and orchestrators,” said a Cashfree spokesperson. Razorpay echoed this sentiment, noting their decision to pause all integrations via third-party platforms. The overarching goal appears to be a more streamlined, efficient, and merchant-focused payments experience.

While the specific challenges faced during their collaboration with Juspay remain undisclosed, the tone of these announcements suggests a focus on cutting out intermediaries to reduce complexity and ensure direct accountability.

Juspay payment platform logo

Juspay’s Response to the Exodus

Juspay, backed by SoftBank and known for its flagship products like Juspay Safe and UPI in a Box, expressed confidence in its value proposition despite the setbacks.

A company spokesperson highlighted Juspay’s role as a Technology Service Provider (TSP), not a payments intermediary. “We have always been a trusted partner to merchants, enabling them to work with multiple PAs and PGs,” they said. The statement pointed out that any payment aggregator unwilling to collaborate with merchants could risk losing out in the broader payments landscape.

The Impact on Juspay

PhonePe, Razorpay, and Cashfree collectively represent a significant share of India’s digital payments volume. Sources indicate that approximately 15% of PhonePe’s payment gateway transactions were routed through Juspay before the split. The loss of Razorpay and Cashfree’s business could amplify the impact on Juspay’s operations and financial outlook.

For context, Juspay reported a robust 49.6% increase in operational revenue for FY24, reaching ₹319.32 crore compared to ₹213.39 crore in FY23. Its payment platform integration business accounted for 88% of its revenue. However, the company’s losses stood at ₹97.54 crore, albeit a 7.8% reduction from the previous year.

A Broader Industry Trend?

The ripple effects of these moves are beginning to take shape across the payments landscape. According to reports, Pine Labs—a provider of offline and online merchant payment services—continues to collaborate with other orchestration platforms, signaling that the strategy of abandoning third-party routers may not be universal.

The competitive dynamics in India’s payments space are evolving rapidly, with players seeking to optimize merchant services, minimize transaction friction, and streamline their operations. As companies focus on direct integrations, orchestration platforms like Juspay may face growing pressure to adapt or risk losing relevance.

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