Hyderabad’s Zaggle Expands Fintech Footprint with Strategic Rs 22 Crore Acquisition of Rio.Money In a strategic move aimed at deepening its play in India’s rapidly growing fintech space,
In a strategic move aimed at deepening its play in India’s rapidly growing fintech space, Hyderabad-based Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services Limited has announced the acquisition of Rio.Money, a niche fintech startup, for a cash consideration of Rs 22 crore.
The announcement, made via stock exchange filings, reveals that Zaggle has signed a non-binding term sheet to acquire 100% equity in Rivpe Technology Private Limited, the legal entity behind Rio.Money. This acquisition marks a significant expansion of Zaggle’s core business model, transitioning from spend management to actively participating in the consumer credit card market.
The proposed acquisition is expected to be completed within 60 days, with a provision for a 30-day extension upon mutual agreement.
Founded in July 2023 by Riya Bhattacharya and Vivek Amarnani, Rio.Money has quickly carved out a unique niche in the fintech ecosystem. The company focuses on enabling EMIs on QR-code-based payments via UPI — a service that blends two of India’s biggest payment channels: credit cards and QR codes.
Its core innovation lies in the ability to split payments into EMIs, even when paying via UPI-linked QR codes, using the Rio–Yes Bank co-branded RuPay credit card, launched in partnership with Yes Bank and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in November 2024.
This unique product empowers consumers to make large purchases through QR code scans while deferring payment through structured EMIs — something typically not available via traditional UPI transactions, which are instant-debit in nature.
By solving this gap in the payment experience, Rio.Money is contributing to the evolution of credit-led UPI — one of the biggest themes in India’s digital finance transformation.
Zaggle’s move to acquire Rio.Money signals a strategic expansion of its core offerings.
Originally known for its spend management solutions, Zaggle has built a reputation for providing prepaid cards, corporate gifting, employee benefits, and automated expense management tools. With this acquisition, the publicly listed company is setting its sights on the consumer finance space — particularly credit card innovation and UPI-linked lending.
The credit card market in India is still relatively under-penetrated compared to UPI. However, innovations such as RuPay credit on UPI and credit card-linked EMI offerings are helping bridge this divide, opening up a large and fast-growing addressable market.
With Rio.Money’s tech stack and existing banking partnerships (notably with Yes Bank and NPCI), Zaggle now gains access to:
This could significantly strengthen Zaggle’s position as a multi-dimensional fintech platform — moving beyond B2B spend solutions to B2C credit innovation.
As per Zaggle’s official stock exchange disclosure, the acquisition is currently structured through a non-binding term sheet. Here are the key deal highlights:
The deal remains subject to the signing of definitive agreements and the completion of standard conditions precedent, such as regulatory approvals and due diligence.
This acquisition is significant for several reasons:
UPI has revolutionized payments in India, but its biggest limitation has been the lack of credit integration. NPCI’s push for RuPay credit on UPI is meant to address this, but adoption remains nascent.
Rio.Money’s approach — enabling EMI-based credit on QR — is one of the more consumer-friendly ways to bridge the credit-UPI gap.
Zaggle’s legacy market focused on corporate expense management and rewards. By entering consumer credit, its TAM expands significantly, potentially tapping into India’s 80+ million credit card users and 350+ million UPI users.
In a capital-constrained environment where many startups struggle to raise follow-on rounds, acquisitions like this offer founders and investors liquidity, while allowing scaled companies like Zaggle to innovate faster through inorganic growth.
The startup was founded by Riya Bhattacharya, a fintech product leader, and Vivek Amarnani, who comes from a background in payments and digital banking.
Their vision was simple but powerful: make credit accessible and flexible at every merchant QR code, without requiring point-of-sale machines or additional integrations.
By leveraging existing UPI rails and linking them with credit infrastructure, Rio.Money created a lightweight, scalable, and mass-market-ready solution — one that clearly caught Zaggle’s attention.
With the acquisition expected to close within the next two months, Zaggle’s post-deal integration plans will be crucial to watch. Potential next steps could include:
The move also positions Zaggle as a possible contender to fintechs like Slice, Uni, and Paytm Postpaid — all of which are chasing the credit+UPI convergence opportunity in India.
Zaggle’s acquisition of Rio.Money is more than just a fintech transaction — it’s a statement of intent.
By absorbing a young but innovative startup into its fold, Zaggle is signaling its readiness to scale in new directions, challenge incumbents, and build for the next wave of India’s financial evolution.
And in Rio.Money, it found the right tech, the right team, and the right timing.
