Razorpay hands over the mic, not the message

During the 2025 IPL, Razorpay took an unconventional approach to brand marketing—especially for a B2B platform. Instead of using its ad slots for self-promotion, the payments and banking company spotlighted 37 Indian startups, giving their founders prime-time visibility.

Created in partnership with creative agency Talented, the campaign featured 37 tailored films shot across three cities and was a departure from the typical celebrity-laden commercial breaks. The fintech company initially developed over 100 personalised ads for founders in its startup accelerator, Rize.

What followed was a groundswell of participation from the wider ecosystem, with entrepreneurs adapting these videos into their own narratives—turning corporate airtime into community storytelling. The campaign gained further momentum with appearances from internet personality and D2C founder Kusha Kapila, and OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal. As Razorpay’s CEO Harshil Mathur put it, the idea was to shift focus from entertainers to “builders”—those quietly shaping India’s future.

Brand strategist at Talented, Yash Dugar, said in a statement, “From day one, we knew we did not want another flashy IPL spot people forget by the next over. We wanted to hand the mic to the real builders – the ones Razorpay was built for. 30 days, quick pivots and a lot of heart. Every time one of those films aired, and a founder shared it like it was their own, we were proud, emotional, and reminded why we do this: to make work that’s seen, and felt.”

When the fintech turned India's most-watched sporting spectacle into a storytelling platform for startups, it didn't just grab eyeballs—it rewrote the rules of B2B marketing. While most brands chase cricket's reach for mass appeal, Razorpay took a contrarian route: handing over its IPL airtime to 37 founders from its startup accelerator, Rize. The campaign spotlighted under-the-radar entrepreneurs from across the country, challenging not just convention, but the very idea of who gets to own the screen.

"We sometimes act lazy on B2B marketing because we think we're marketing to institutions. But the truth is, you're always speaking to individuals," Apuarv Sethi, senior vice president of marketing at Razorpay told Campaign. "This campaign worked like magic—even surprised me. Our top-of-mind awareness went up 1.5x, NPS by 1.2x, and brand love by 1.6x. All while spending a fraction of what others pay to be seen."

According to the company’s internal data, 19 of the 37 featured startups saw Google Trends traffic spike between 15% and 54% compared to their six-month average. Razorpay's own association scores with these brands also saw a meaningful uptick. "We approached this like a PR play, not an ad campaign. The IPL just gave it scale," adds Sethi. "Founders were stunned when we told them it was free. No catch, just community."

The billboard that gave birth to a movement

That spirit of community has long been woven into Razorpay's brand fabric. Before IPL, there was the billboard. Dubbed "The Next Big Thing," this space on Razorpay's Koramangala campus has showcased startups like Shaka Harry, Even, Fold, and Coupl—for free. No logo plugs, no sales pitches. Just a quiet nudge to say, "We believe in you."

"Razorpay ads are not allowed on that billboard," says Sethi. "Its ROI is brand love. One founder even got funding shortly after being featured. Our stated purpose is: no believer walks alone."

The hoarding, like the IPL campaign, is reserved for early-stage startups, many of which are part of Razorpay Rise. "We have a framework to ensure variety and inclusivity. It's not just a billboard—it's their first ad, their first visibility, sometimes their first validation," Sethi explains.

Cross-selling without chaos

With over five million clients—70% of whom use two or more Razorpay products—the risk of communication overload is real. The team has built a robust data science engine to power what Sethi calls a "contextual cross-sell ecosystem."

"Every attribute of a business is modeled. We won’t pitch a payment gateway to a social-only creator brand. Our sales and marketing funnels are integrated with GTM signals, allowing us to talk to founders, CTOs, CFOs and COOs simultaneously, with tailored messages."

To avoid feature fatigue, Razorpay has introduced internal metrics like "context per person" to ensure consumers aren’t bombarded. "We used to post five product updates a week. Now we package them into a 'Feature Focus' series—a single, high-impact drop. It’s about prioritisation and consolidation."

This approach also allows them to execute what Sethi calls "moment marketing at scale." For instance, a merchant who suddenly stops receiving payments might trigger a contextual nudge offering a solution. "The tech isn’t just smart. It’s respectful."

POP and the consumer conundrum

In June 2025, Razorpay took a decisive step into the consumer UPI space by becoming the majority stakeholder in POP, a digital payments and rewards platform, after leading its $30 million funding round. This follows its acquisition of loyalty platform PoshVine and the debut of its marketing tech suite, Razorpay Engage.

The move signals a clear shift from core payments to broader consumer engagement and loyalty. Harshil Mathur, co-founder and CEO maintained that this investment aligns with the company’s focus on helping D2C merchants drive customer loyalty.  

Razorpay's foray into the UPI universe through POP, its new platform, might look like a pivot to consumer fintech. But internally, the positioning remains squarely B2B.

"With POP, our intent is not to chase consumer volume like Google Pay or PhonePe," says a company spokesperson. "It’s about building a loyalty-driven platform that benefits our merchant ecosystem. It’s an ecosystem play, not a mass-market land grab."

Even as POP processed 13.6 million UPI transactions worth over INR 500 crore in May 2025, the messaging was consistent: depth over breadth. The marketing strategy revolves around deep integrations with businesses, allowing them to use POP to boost customer engagement and retention.

Going global: Localisation, not just translation

As Razorpay expands across Southeast Asia—with Malaysia and Singapore already in the mix—the marketing team is rewriting its playbook. Southeast Asia is projected to contribute 15% of Razorpay’s revenue by 2030.

"Every market has its own quirks. Instagram might work in India, but it doesn’t in Malaysia. TikTok is dominant in the US, banned in India. So the channels change, but the approach remains rooted in balance—tech plus human interaction," says Sethi.

In a B2B context, that means using automated lead scoring alongside direct engagement. "You have to understand local sentiment before feeding data back into the funnel. It's not cookie-cutter."

For Razorpay, checkout isn’t just a transaction point—it’s an emotional handshake between brand and consumer. Discovery may be window shopping, but checkout is when trust is exchanged.

"We are the little door where the customer and the merchant shake hands for the first time," says Sethi. "If we can make that moment magical, we win loyalty."

This philosophy drove their acquisition of PoshVine and the launch of Razorpay Engage—key steps toward building a full-fledged martech stack. "We saw a gap in financial intelligence at a founder level. Engage helps merchants grow, retain users and build trust."

IPO on the horizon

As Razorpay eyes a public listing in the next 2–3 years, does the brand plan to shift from ecosystem-building to shareholder storytelling?

"Honestly, I haven’t felt that pressure yet," admits Sethi. "What makes Razorpay special is our clarity of purpose. If something doesn’t help our entrepreneurs, we won’t do it—even if it makes us look good."

He cites the IPL campaign again: "We didn’t measure its ROI obsessively. It was meant for that one viewer who dreams of becoming a founder. We’ll continue to be the brand for them. We might even run programs for school kids, because why not?"

From hoardings in Bengaluru to founder films during IPL, Razorpay is betting on "acts over ads." "We are a community challenger brand. What Nike is to sports, we want to be to entrepreneurship," says Sethi. "The IPL campaign, the billboard, POP—none of these are just marketing. They’re our brand in motion."

As competition in fintech stiffens and global ambitions accelerate, Razorpay's marketing playbook offers an important reminder for the industry: In an age of algorithms and automation, purpose and people still scale.

In Razorpay’s world, growth isn’t just about GMV or NPS. It’s about building an ecosystem where founders aren’t just users—they’re protagonists.