Jasper Infotech has pumped in close to Rs 390 crore into FreeCharge, at a time when the Gurgaon-based unicorn is in the process of closing a substantial equity financing round for its digital payments platform.

The latest capital infusion received by FreeCharge Payment Technologies was declared by the company in a filing submitted to the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in the last week of December. Jasper Infotech also owns and operates online marketplace Snapdeal.com.

The infusion also follows a special resolution passed in the first week of December, where FreeCharge increased its authorised share capital from Rs 6 crore to Rs 1,006 crore, setting stage for a significant round of funding to come in. An email questionnaire sent to Jasper Infotech and FreeCharge spokespersons did not elicit any response at the time of going to press.

This follows several media reports over the last six months that have claimed that the SoftBank, Alibaba Group and Foxconn Technology-backed Jasper Infotech is in the process of tying up with several investors, largely strategic in nature, to invest in FreeCharge.

While names such as global online payments giant PayPal and Chinese investment holding company Tencent have done the rounds, Jasper spokespersons have officially denied that the above-mentioned parties were in the running to invest in FreeCharge.

Payment platforms, such as FreeCharge and its rivals, Paytm and MobiKwik, among others, have been the largest beneficiaries of the Modi government’s decision to demonetise the country’s high-value currency notes in November, which in turn has seen a massive spike in digital payments and mobile-wallet transactions.

The last two months of the calendar year have seen India’s digital payments ventures’ burn rates ramping up significantly, as they double down on their advertising spends, as well as launch a slew of consumer-focused benefits, as they look to convert a greater people transacting online. FreeCharge’s monthly burn rate over November and December is believed to be about $8 million.

FreeCharge is now a cornerstone of Jasper’s business, as it continues to build a comprehensive online ecosystem of goods and services, similar to that created by Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group.

Source: The Times of India