Mumbai, Maharashtra, India (NewsVoir) As part of its steadfast commitment to advancing India’s digitization mission, and further driving financial inclusion agenda, PayU, a leading fintech platform, executed a host of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in 2025. Designed to bridge the digital divide and empower underserved communities nationwide, PayU’s multi-faceted programs have directly benefited over 50,000 rural beneficiaries and over 140 women across key villages in states like Maharashtra, etc. and about 450 students and educators in India since 2024. To drive this mission forward, PayU partnered with the key organizations including partnerships with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), NeevJivan NGO, etc.

"PayU's commitment to social impact goes beyond financial inclusion – we're building digitally safe and economically empowered communities from the ground up," said Richa Mukherjee, Senior Director – Corporate Affairs and Public Policy. "These programs represent our belief that technology and entrepreneurship can transform lives. When we see rural students mastering cybersecurity concepts or women launching sustainable businesses, we're creating lasting change that supports the Digital India mission." Pioneering Digital Safety Education In partnership with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) for its Cyber for Youth Program, PayU revolutionized cybersecurity education in rural Karnataka. Through engaging activities such as interactive quizzes, poster competitions, and live demonstrations conducted in local languages, covering critical topics including cyberbullying prevention, social media safety, and digital payment fraud awareness. The program's impact was validated through rigorous pre- and post-assessments, with students showing knowledge improvement rates ranging from 62.5% to 82.3% across different schools.

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Sustainable Livelihood Programs By collaborating with NeevJivan NGO, PayU implemented its ‘Model Village Program’ focused on empowering women entrepreneurs in the Nashik, Dahanu, and Jawhar regions of Maharashtra. The initiative introduced sustainable livelihood projects including bee-keeping, mushroom farming, poultry farming, and vermicomposting, providing women with viable alternate income sources.

The program provided comprehensive support including 30-45 days of entrepreneurship training and strategic branding assistance, with products like "Madhu" for honey and "Mastshroom" for mushrooms. The initiative successfully established 14 sustainable projects, with every participating household gaining access to new income-generating opportunities, demonstrating PayU's commitment to economic empowerment through innovation.

Leadership-Driven Educational Impact PayU further strengthened its educational commitment through a strategic partnership with Teach for India. PayU's senior leaders engaged directly with over 450 students and educators through extended mentorship sessions, facilitating knowledge sharing and providing real-world insights into technology, entrepreneurship, and career development. This initiative reinforced PayU's belief in leadership-driven social change and the power of direct engagement in shaping young minds.

All these initiatives build upon PayU's established track record of impactful CSR programs. Last year, the company successfully implemented two major initiatives: the Village Adoption Program under RBI's framework, which brought digital payment literacy to 5,000 beneficiaries across five villages in Uttar Pradesh under the theme ‘Har Payment Digital’ and the Digital Vans initiative in partnership with MeITY's CSC, which delivered financial and digital literacy training to over 50,238 citizens in remote areas around Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Gurugram. These programs demonstrate PayU's consistent commitment to bridging the digital divide and advancing financial inclusion across India's rural landscape.

About PayU PayU, India's leading diversified fintech platform with Prosus as an investor, operates businesses that are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and offers advanced solutions to meet the digital financial services needs of customers (merchants, banks, and consumers).

PayU provides payment gateway solutions to online businesses through its cutting-edge and award-winning technology and has empowered 4.5 lakhs+ businesses, including India’s leading enterprises, e-commerce giants and SMBs. It enables businesses to collect digital payments across 100+ online payment methods such as Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Net Banking, EMIs, pay-later, QR, UPI, Wallets, and more. It’s a preferred partner in the affordability ecosystem, offering the maximum coverage of issuers and easy-to-implement integrations across card-based EMIs, pay-later options and new-age cardless EMIs. PayU offers e-commerce brands best-in-industry success rates while ensuring a seamless checkout experience.

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PayU's 2025 CSR advances digital safety, women's sustainable livelihoods, and financial inclusion through targeted training and partnerships. PayU implemented a multi component Corporate Social Responsibility program emphasizing digital safety education, sustainable livelihood projects for women, and leadership led mentorship to advance digital and financial inclusion. The digital safety work used vernacular training and pre/post assessments showing marked student knowledge gains; the livelihood initiative created 14 micro enterprise projects with entrepreneurship training and branding support; prior programs referenced include a central bank framed village adoption for digital payments literacy and digital vans delivering financial and digital literacy in remote areas.