Payrails, a Berlin-based payment solutions provider, has entered into a strategic partnership with inDrive, a global ride-hailing service, to enhance inDrive’s payment offerings across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and beyond.
The collaboration is set to optimize the payment experience for inDrive’s drivers and customers, aiming to boost transaction success rates while reducing associated costs. Payrails reports that inDrive’s adoption of a payment service provider (PSP)-agnostic integration layer, along with dynamic payment routing, has already led to an 11% improvement in card approval rates. Payrails highlights the efficiency of this approach, noting that inDrive managed to achieve these results more quickly than the time typically required to establish new payment integrations. The company also points out that dynamic payment routing plays a crucial role in enhancing payment completion rates and minimizing the incidence of failed transactions.
Founded in 2021 by Orkhan Abdullayev and Emre Talay, Payrails was established with the mission to help businesses streamline their global payment processes and automate financial operations. The startup currently has a workforce of approximately 50 employees and aims to double its headcount to 100 by the year 2024. Payrails has raised significant funding, securing up to $20.8 million to date, including a $14.4 million injection in June 2023 to expand its operational system. In 2022, the company received $6.4 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm a16z.
inDrive, which relocated its operations to the United States in 2023, now has a presence in 749 cities across 46 countries, with its services available in several African nations such as Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, and South Africa. In 2023, inDrive earned the distinction of being the world’s second most downloaded ride-hailing application, amassing a total of 66.6 million downloads across Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Before forging the partnership with Payrails, inDrive had already ventured into the financial services domain in January 2024, announcing plans to offer financial products like small loans to drivers in select African markets where it operates.
The collaboration between inDrive and Payrails is set to tackle the complexities of integrating multiple payment service providers (PSPs) and alternative payment methods (APMs), as well as to support the expansion of inDrive’s operational footprint.
A key innovation brought forth by this partnership is the introduction of dynamic payment pages, which are designed to enhance the user experience during transactions. However, the offerings from Payrails extend beyond this feature, as the company also provides a broadened scope of alternative payment method options. The cornerstone of Payrails’ solution is its unified integration layer, which is accessible through a single API. This streamlined approach is touted to eliminate the necessity for extensive individual integrations, thereby simplifying the payment process for inDrive.
Orkhan Abdullayev, the CEO of Payrails, views the partnership as a testament to the company’s dedication to delivering cutting-edge payment solutions in the MENA region and addressing the complex challenges faced by large enterprises.
Abdullayev emphasizes the company’s ambition to redefine the standards of excellence for payment solutions on a global scale, particularly within key industry sectors. The CEO’s concluding remarks underscore the strategic intent to establish Payrails as a leader in the payments solutions space, setting new industry benchmarks through innovation and customer-centric services.
