ItzCash targets India’s middle and lower classes, particularly small businesses and traders that run cash-based businesses. That was attractive to U.S.-based insurance software firm Ebix, which invested $123 million in ItzCash in exchange for an 80 percent stake; the deal values ItzCash at about $150 million.
Indian conglomerate Essel Group will retain 20 percent while early investors Matrix Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Intel Capital have exited with between 3X and 5X returns.
One of India’s earliest digital payments companies, ItzCash launched in 2005, when more than 95 percent of financial transactions in India were cash-based.
It recently crossed $2 billion in transactions, with average transaction sizes of 1,200 to 1,500 rupees ($18 to $25). ItzCash will expand outside of India, and add insurance and telehealth payments.
