PhonePe

What PhonePe does

PhonePe is a Walmart-owned Indian digital payments and financial services company founded in 2015, operating as the country's leading UPI-based super-app platform. It serves over 700 million registered users and 50 million+ merchants covering 98%+ of India's postal codes, processing more than 10 billion UPI transactions monthly with 46-47% volume share of India's UPI ecosystem. The core technology stack includes proprietary UPI payments infrastructure, a Switch super-app platform integrating 300+ third-party apps, the PhonePe Pulse data analytics platform, and AI-powered merchant tools (SmartPages and AI Integration Agent) that reduce onboarding and storefront creation timelines from weeks to minutes.

The company's product portfolio spans the full financial services stack: UPI payments, mobile recharges, bill payments, insurance distribution, wealth management (Share.Market), digital gold and silver (via MMTC-PAMP), consumer and merchant lending, co-branded credit cards (with SBI and HDFC Bank), travel bookings, and an advertising platform (PhonePe Ads). The PhonePe Payment Gateway and Payment Aggregator serve online merchants with a 1.99% card transaction fee model and zero-cost UPI acceptance.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of payment gateway transaction fees, merchant lending commissions (via partner NBFCs), insurance and wealth product distribution commissions, brokerage fees on Share.Market, advertising placements, and spreads on digital precious metals. The company has not publicly disclosed revenue but has raised over $1 billion in primary capital at a $12 billion valuation (2023), executed a $600 million secondary transaction with General Atlantic in October 2025 at a $13.3 billion valuation, and filed IPO paperwork targeting $12-15 billion. Walmart holds over 70% of equity following PhonePe's full separation from Flipkart in 2022-2023. The company employs 10,000+ people and is headquartered in Bengaluru.

Name

PhonePe

Legal name

PhonePe Pvt Ltd

Website

https://phonepe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

PhonePe is India's leading UPI-based digital payments and financial services platform, serving 700M+ users and 50M+ merchants with payments, lending, insurance, wealth management, and merchant financial services. Walmart majority-owned, filed for IPO at $12-15B.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Payments

akta.pro primary industry

Carrier Billing & Telco Mobile Money (FSAMAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Super-App Wallets & Mini-Program Payments (FSAMAEAE), QR Code Payments Wallets (FSAMAEAC)

Keywords

• Digital payments platform
• UPI payment processing
• Mobile wallet services
• Merchant payment solutions
• Financial services platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Andheri

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing / UPI Transactions: PhonePe earns revenue from processing UPI and digital payments transactions, including merchant discount rates (MDR) on card and QR transactions. Despite regulatory constraints on MDR, this remains a core revenue stream from its massive merchant and consumer base.
2. Payment Gateway Services: PhonePe Payment Gateway and Payment Aggregator services provide online payment processing for merchants. The company offers zero-cost acceptance for online businesses with a 1.99% fee model for card transactions.
3. Merchant Lending / Credit: PhonePe provides working capital loans and business loans to merchants through its lending platform, using transaction data for credit assessment and offering credit through partner NBFCs.
4. Insurance Distribution: PhonePe serves as a distribution channel for insurance products including health, life, motor, and embedded insurance for merchants, earning commission on policies sold through its platform.
5. Wealth Management / Share.Market: PhonePe operates Share.Market, a stock trading and wealth management platform, offering mutual fund investments, digital gold, and stock broking services, generating revenue through brokerage fees and product distribution commissions.
6. Advertising and Promotions: PhonePe Ads allows brands to advertise within the PhonePe app and reach its large consumer base, including promotional placements and sponsored content within the platform.
7. Digital Gold and Silver: PhonePe enables users to buy and sell digital gold and silver, generating revenue through spreads and commissions on precious metals transactions facilitated through partner MMTC-PAMP.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

PhonePe operates a UPI-based digital payments and financial services super-app for Indian consumers and merchants. The consumer-facing app enables UPI money transfers, mobile recharges, bill payments, insurance, investments (mutual funds, stocks via Share.Market), digital gold/silver, co-branded credit cards, and travel bookings. For merchants, PhonePe distributes QR codes, POS terminals, SmartSpeakers, an online Payment Gateway with 1.99% card fees, merchant lending, and in-app advertising. The ecosystem is anchored by the Switch platform integrating over 300 third-party apps.

Product overview

PhonePe is a Walmart-owned Indian fintech super app operating as a unified digital payments and financial services platform. The core offering is the PhonePe Payments App for UPI-based transactions, complemented by business-facing solutions including Payment Gateway, Payment Aggregator, and Offline Payments (QR codes, POS, SmartSpeakers). The financial services portfolio spans Insurance, Investments (via Share.Market stock trading platform), Consumer and Merchant Lending, and Digital Gold/Silver. Travel services, co-branded credit cards (SBI, HDFC, Wish), and PhonePe Ads round out the consumer offering. The ecosystem includes PhonePe Pulse (data analytics), Switch platform (app integration strengthened by the acquired Indus App Bazaar), and AI-powered merchant tools SmartPages and AI Integration Agent. The platform serves over 700 million registered users and 50 million merchants across India.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PhonePe Pulse: Data analytics platform showing digital payment trends and insights in India
• Indus App Bazaar
• Share.Market
• SmartPages
• PhonePe Payment Gateway

Products and services

• PhonePe Payments App Primary UPI-based digital payments application for consumers enabling payments, money transfers, recharges, bill payments, and access to financial services across millions of merchants.
• PhonePe Payment Gateway
• PhonePe Payment Aggregator Payment aggregator service enabling businesses to accept and process digital payments nationwide under PhonePe's regulatory authorization.
• PhonePe Offline Payments In-store digital payment solutions suite including QR code acceptance, POS terminals, and SmartSpeakers for offline merchants across India.
• PhonePe POS Terminal Point-of-sale terminals for offline merchants to accept various payment methods including cards, UPI, and wallets.
• PhonePe SmartSpeakers Audio notification devices for merchants that announce successful payment transactions audibly in vernacular languages.
• PhonePe Insurance Distribution platform for digital insurance products including health, life, motor, and general insurance offered in partnership with insurers.
• PhonePe Investments (Share.Market) Wealth management and stock broking platform offering mutual funds, stocks, and SIP investments using the proprietary CRISP scoring methodology.
• PhonePe Consumer Lending Personal loans and credit facilities for individual consumers distributed through the app in partnership with lending institutions.
• PhonePe Merchant Lending Business loans and working capital solutions for merchant partners underwritten using PhonePe transaction data through partner NBFCs.
• PhonePe Secured Lending Secured personal loans with collateral requirements offered to eligible borrowers through the PhonePe app.
• PhonePe Digital Gold Investment platform for purchasing 24K digital gold starting at ₹10, with holdings stored in insured bank-grade vaults via partner MMTC-PAMP.
• PhonePe Digital Silver Investment platform for purchasing 999.9 purity digital silver starting at ₹10 via partner MMTC-PAMP.
• PhonePe Travel & Commute Travel and commute booking services including flights, hotels, cabs, metro tickets, FASTag recharges, and roadside assistance within the PhonePe app.
• PhonePe SBI Credit Card Co-branded credit card with SBI Cards issued in SELECT BLACK and PURPLE variants offering 10% reward points on PhonePe spends.
• PhonePe HDFC Credit Card Co-branded credit card with HDFC Bank offering rewards and cashback on transactions distributed through PhonePe and HDFC Bank channels.
• PhonePe Wish Credit Card Zero annual fee credit card offering maximum cashback benefits distributed through the PhonePe platform.
• PhonePe Ads Advertising platform enabling brands to reach PhonePe's 700+ million user base through in-app advertising placements and sponsored content.
• PhonePe Pulse Open data analytics platform providing insights into how digital payments move across India, with quarterly data updates showing geographic and demographic trends.
• PhonePe Switch Super-app platform integrating over 300 third-party apps and services, enabling users to access travel, food, shopping, and other services directly within the PhonePe app.

Quantifiable outcome

• User acquisition cost effectively reduced through digital-first distribution, with time to acquire next million users decreasing from 136 days to 6 days.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ET NOW (Times Network)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 14 June 2026PhonePe co-powered the ET NOW Markets Summit 2026, a major financial markets event in India bringing together India's leading economists, market strategists, fund managers, and policymakers, using the event for brand positioning and B2B networking.
• Digital Precious Metals Assurance Council of India (DPMACI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026PhonePe is a founding member of the Digital Precious Metals Assurance Council of India (DPMACI), a self-regulatory body for India's digital gold and silver market, alongside MMTC-PAMP, SafeGold, Augmont, BharatPe, MobiKwik, Gullak, Lenden Club, and CRED. The SRO aims to establish standards including 1:1 physical backing and third-party audits.
• BharatPeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026BharatPe co-founded the Digital Precious Metals Assurance Council of India (DPMACI) with PhonePe to establish governance standards for India's digital gold and silver market.
• SafeGoldminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026SafeGold is a member of the Digital Precious Metals Assurance Council of India (DPMACI), the self-regulatory organization for digital precious metals co-founded by PhonePe.
• AugmontminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026Augmont is a member of the Digital Precious Metals Assurance Council of India (DPMACI), the self-regulatory organization for digital precious metals co-founded by PhonePe.
• MobiKwikminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026MobiKwik is a member of the Digital Precious Metals Assurance Council of India (DPMACI), the self-regulatory organization for digital precious metals co-founded by PhonePe.
• CREDminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026CRED is a member of the Digital Precious Metals Assurance Council of India (DPMACI), the self-regulatory organization for digital precious metals co-founded by PhonePe.
• WeWork IndiaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 11 May 2026WeWork India and PhonePe co-presented 'The Titans' summit in Mumbai, focused on workforce strategy and India's growth trajectory, bringing together business leaders and providing brand visibility for PhonePe in the B2B segment.
• OSLabs (Singapore)minorOthers · 29 July 2022PhonePe acquired OSLabs, a Singapore-based app discovery company, for over $60 million as part of its super app strategy and vernacular language expansion. The deal also included settlement of a long-standing dispute with Affle Global.
• WealthDeskminorOthers · 18 May 2022PhonePe acquired wealth tech platforms WealthDesk and OpenQ for $70 million in May 2022. WealthDesk operates as an open platform with founder Ujjwal Jain continuing to lead. This acquisition was foundational to PhonePe's Share.Market wealth management platform.
• OpenQ (Quantech Capital)minorOthers · 18 May 2022PhonePe acquired OpenQ (Quantech Capital) alongside WealthDesk for $70 million in May 2022 as part of its wealth tech expansion strategy.
• GigIndiaminorOthers · 21 March 2022PhonePe acquired GigIndia, a network for freelance micro-entrepreneurs in India with 1.5 million entrepreneurs, to enhance PhonePe's enterprise services and create opportunities for freelancers.
• Indus App BazaarminorOthers · 19 May 2021PhonePe acquired Indus App Bazaar for $60 million to strengthen its Switch app platform that integrates various apps and services, expanding PhonePe's ecosystem which already included over 300 apps and 250 million users at the time.
• SBI CardscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPhonePe partnered with SBI Cards to issue the PhonePe SBI Credit Card PURPLE and the PhonePe SBI Credit Card SELECT BLACK, offering 10% reward points on PhonePe spends and various cashback offers. These co-branded credit cards are distributed through PhonePe's app and SBI's banking channels.
• HDFC BankcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPhonePe partnered with HDFC Bank to issue co-branded HDFC Bank PhonePe Credit Cards, distributed through the PhonePe app and HDFC Bank's customer base.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Paytm (One97 Communications): India's largest listed fintech and PhonePe's closest competitor across UPI payments, payment gateway, lending, insurance, and wealth management. Paytm holds ~7.9% UPI volume share and offers a near-identical super-app product set including Paytm Wallet, Paytm Postpaid, and Paytm Money.
• Google Pay (GPay in India): PhonePe's largest direct UPI competitor with ~32.7% volume share, also operating as a super-app-like wallet with bill payments, recharges, and merchant offers. Backed by Google's deep distribution via Android and Search.
• Amazon Pay: Amazon's India payments business offering UPI-based payments, bill pay, and merchant offers to Amazon's 300M+ Indian customer base. Directly competes with PhonePe for both consumer and merchant mindshare in digital payments.
• Mobikwik: Indian digital wallet and fintech platform listed on NSE/BSE offering wallet, UPI, lending (Zip), and wealth products to mass-market consumers. Smaller scale than PhonePe but with significant SMB and digital lending overlap.
• BharatPe: Merchant-focused Indian fintech offering QR payments, payment gateway, and merchant lending. Directly competes with PhonePe's offline merchant business and lending franchise, especially for SMB and kirana segments.
• WhatsApp Pay: Meta-operated UPI-based payments within WhatsApp messenger, leveraging WhatsApp's 400M+ Indian users. Niche overlap today but represents a strategic threat given Meta's distribution and ecosystem reach.

Emerging players

• CRED: Premium Indian fintech super-app focused on credit-card bill payments and expanding into lending, commerce, and wealth. Targets higher-credit-quality users with a similar super-app thesis but smaller scale than PhonePe.
• Razorpay: India's leading payment gateway and payment aggregator for online businesses. Directly competes with PhonePe's Payment Gateway and Payment Aggregator services, especially in the SMB and startup online merchant segment.

Broad incumbents

• PayPal: Global digital wallet and payments incumbent with limited India presence but overlapping product set (consumer wallet, merchant gateway, BNPL). Comparable for benchmarking global digital-payments economics, not direct India competition.
• Adyen: Global unified payments platform serving enterprise merchants with online, in-store, and platform payments. Comparable in the payment-gateway and merchant-acquiring segments of PhonePe's business, though focused on enterprise rather than SMB.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PhonePe_
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/PhonePe
• Facebookfacebook.com/OfficialPhonePe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/phonepe-internet
• Instagraminstagram.com/phonepe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds19 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A6 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PhonePe