Fintech firm PayU appoints Pramod Rao as its Chief Risk Officer

Fintech firm PayU has announced the appointment of Pramod Rao as its new chief risk officer, a move that comes as the digital payments platform prepares for an initial public offering in the second half of 2025.

Rao brings more than 27 years of experience across the banking, financial services, and telecom sectors, having held key positions in organizations such as Axis Bank, Vodafone Idea, Citibank, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, and HSBC.

Extensive risk management experience

Rao will lead PayU’s efforts to strengthen risk management strategies, ensure regulatory compliance, and build a robust financial and operational risk framework. His background includes expertise in fraud risk management, investigations, compliance, and security.

He holds a postgraduate diploma in business management from the University of Mumbai, with additional specializations in cyber law and forensic accounting.

Rao has also completed executive leadership programs at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Kellogg School of Management.

Leadership comments

"His extensive experience in financial security, regulatory compliance, and fraud prevention will be key to enhancing our risk framework and ensuring seamless, secure transactions for our customers. With Pramod leading our risk function, we are confident in our ability to drive sustainable and secure growth in the evolving payments landscape," said Anirban Mukherjee, CEO of PayU.

Rao adds that he is looking forward to collaborating with the PayU team to enhance security, drive compliance, and support the company’s future growth.

Preparing for IPO

PayU has stated its intention to go public in the second half of 2025. Rao’s appointment is seen as part of the company’s move to bolster its leadership as it moves toward a listing.

PayU currently provides payment gateway solutions to online businesses through its technology platform. It serves more than 500,000 merchants in India across three key segments: payments, credit, and PayTech, and reports an annualized transaction volume of over $60 billion.

Rao’s arrival follows several other senior-level appointments at PayU. These include Pranav Pandya as chief compliance officer, Dimple Mehta as company secretary, Rahul Bharadwaj as head of operations, and Ashok Patil as chief risk officer for the credit business.