Pine Labs may look for series-B funding

However, Sequoia Capital, which picked up a majority stake in Pine Labs in 2009, is likely to remain principal investor

Sequoia Capital backed Pine Labs, which provides payment, loyalty and retail automation systems, may look for a series-B funding.

However, Sequoia Capital, which picked up a majority stake in Pine Labs in 2009, is likely to remain a “principal investor” in the company, said CEO Lokvir Kapoor.

“We are not looking for any fresh funding right now. But we might look at a series B funding in future,” he said, without giving any timeframe. New Atlantic Ventures had also invested in Pine Labs in 2009.

The Noida-based firm, which targets to maintain a growth rate of about 40% quarter-on-quarter, expects that the Government’s decision to open up the retail sector to foreign investors would boost the payment solution industry in India.

"Payment solution industry is growing fast. With the booming retail industry, we have witnessed an opportunity for PC-based multi-bank card authorisation solution that was robust and reliable. Technological advancement will soon be key to the industry. However, electronic payments are yet to take off fully in India,” he said.

Pine Labs’ clientele includes Future Group, Shoppers Stop, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Telekom Malaysia, Bharat Petroleum, besides plenty of small and medium retailers in smaller cities.

Plutus, which is a debit/credit card acceptance solution that streamlines operations to accept diverse payment options by merchants at the point of sale (PoS), is one of the most popular products of the company. It also allows instant EMI option at the point of sales.

According to Kapoor, about 80% of the company’s revenue currently comes from large retailers and oil retailing companies. However, business from shopping malls offering loyalty, manufacturers offering EMI options, quick services restaurants and online retailers is also growing fast, he added.

Pine Labs claims that more than 1,000 small and medium retail companies are adopting its solutions each month.

The company currently employs about 300 people. Of this, about 100 were added in he past one year.