PhonePe

Last updated

PhonePe
PhonePe Logo.svg
Type of business Private
Type of site
Digital payments & Financial services
Available in Multilingual (11)
Founded2015;11 years ago (2015)
HeadquartersSalarpuria Softzone, Bengaluru, Karnataka,
India [1]
Area servedIndia
Founders
Industry Fintech, Financial services, Payment gateway
Services
Revenue Increase2.svg₹7,115 crore (US$840 million) (2025) [3]
Parent Walmart
URL phonepe.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
Users 600 million [4]
Current statusActive
Native client(s) on Android
iOS

PhonePe is an Indian digital payments and financial services company, headquartered in Bengaluru. [5] [6] It was founded in December 2015, [7] [2] by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer. [8] The PhonePe app, based on the Unified Payments Interface, went live in August 2016. [9] [10]

Contents

The PhonePe app is accessible in 11 Indian languages. [11] It enables users to perform various financial transactions such as sending and receiving money, recharging mobile and DTH, making utility payments, conducting in-store payments. [12] [13]

History

PhonePe was incorporated in December 2015. [14] In April 2016, the company was acquired by Flipkart [15] [16] and as part of the acquisition, the FxMart license was transferred to PhonePe and rebranded as the PhonePe wallet. PhonePe's co-founder Sameer Nigam was appointed as the CEO of the company. [17]

In August 2016, the company partnered with Yes Bank to launch a UPI-based mobile payment app, based on the government-backed UPI platform. [18]

In December 2020, Flipkart and PhonePe declared a partial split, with Walmart maintaining its majority ownership in PhonePe and the two entities functioning independently. [19] In 2022, PhonePe shifted its domicile to India from Singapore and completed separation from Flipkart. [20]

In 2022, it launched international UPI payments, allowing Indian users traveling abroad to pay foreign merchants with Unified Payments Interface (UPI). [21] [22]

In 2022, PhonePe obtained licensing from the Reserve Bank of India for operating a Semi-Closed Prepaid Payment system. [23]

In January 2023, PhonePe raised $350 million from General Atlantic, a US growth equity firm, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. [24] It raised another $100 million in primary capital in February 2023 from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds, followed by $200 million in primary capital from Walmart, and another $100 million from General Atlantic at the same valuation. [25] [26]

In April 2023, PhonePe launched a new shopping app called 'Pincode', focused on hyperlocal e-commerce and built on top of the ONDC platform. [27] In August 2023, PhonePe launched Share.Market, a stock broking and mutual fund investment platform, via its subsidiary PhonePe Wealth Broking. [28] [29] [30] In February 2024, PhonePe introduced Indus Appstore, a mobile app store. [31] [32] [33]

In April 2025, PhonePe converted into a public company and changed its name from PhonePe Private Limited to PhonePe Limited as part of its preparations for an initial public offering. [34] [35] According to media reports, in September 2025, PhonePe filed draft papers with SEBI for IPO via the confidential pre filing route. [36]

On 14 January 2017, ICICI bank blocked PhonePe transactions, citing the reasons that it did not meet the NPCI guidelines. [37] [38] Initially, on 19 January 2017, NPCI instructed ICICI to allow UPI transactions via PhonePe. [39] During this period, Airtel too blocked PhonePe transactions on its platforms. [40] A day later, on 20 January 2017, NPCI renounced the previous instructions citing the reason that PhonePe indeed violated the UPI norms. [41] [42] [43]

After this, PhonePe closed its operations on Flipkart's website, [44] to align itself with the terms stated in the updated verdict from NPCI. By February 2017, PhonePe resolved the issues with ICICI and Airtel. [45]

ESOP

PhonePe allots employee stock options (ESOPs) to its full-time employees. [46] In November 2021, PhonePe was reported to have conducted a buyback of ESOPs worth ₹1.35 billion (US$16 million), covering 75% of its current workforce who have completed at least a year of service. [47]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Contact Us". PhonePe, Pvt Ltd. 15 March 2015. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". Tech in Asia . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "PhonePe cuts losses to ₹1,727.4 crore as revenue climbs 40%". The Hindu. 22 September 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  4. ↑ TNIE online desk (24 September 2025). "PhonePe files draft papers for $1.5 billion IPO". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  5. ↑ Singh, Abhinav (10 March 2020). "Why digital payment firms should not rely on single bank". The Week. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "Top ten Indian Fintech unicorns - ET BFSI". ETBFSI.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "IBLA 2023: Walmart-backed PhonePe is this edition's 'Young Turk of The Year' - CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  8. ↑ Chanchani, Madhav (4 April 2016). "Flipkart acquires former executive's startup PhonePe for payments push". The Economic Times . Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Sen, Anirban (10 January 2017). "Flipkart's PhonePe crosses 10 million downloads on Google Play Store". Mint . Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "PhonePe offers guaranteed cashback on gold, silver: Here are details". The Times of India. 29 October 2021. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  11. ↑ "5 digital payment platforms you can use during Coronavirus Lockdown". India Today. 20 April 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "PhonePe launches silver investments; allows users to buy silver coins and bars". cnbctv18.com. 30 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  13. ↑ Dasgupta, Brinda (23 March 2018). "Payments platform PhonePe looks to double its team". The Times Of India . Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  14. ↑ "Flipkart : India's most preferred online shopping store". The Indian Wire. 3 July 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Flipkart acquires mobile payments firm PhonePe". BusinessLine. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  16. ↑ "Flipkart acquires former executive's startup PhonePe for payments push". The Economic Times . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  17. ↑ Raj, Ritik. "Meet man who once worked at Flipkart, now runs Rs 99400 crore company, he is…". DNA India. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  18. ↑ Sahay, Priyanka (29 August 2016). "Flipkart's PhonePe ties up with Yes Bank to launch UPI-based app". Live Mint.
  19. ↑ Singh, Manish (23 December 2022). "Flipkart and PhonePe complete separation". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  20. ↑ "PhonePe turns profitable excluding Esop costs in FY24". The Times of India. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  21. ↑ "Walmart-owned PhonePe to enable UPI activation on Aadhaar-based OTP". Business Standard. 9 November 2022. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  22. ↑ "PhonePe allows cross-border UPI payments in UAE, Singapore". The Hindu. 7 February 2023. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  23. ↑ "Reserve Bank of India - Publications". rbi.org.in. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  24. ↑ Rawat, Aman (19 January 2023). "PhonePe raises $350 mn from General Atlantic at $12 bn valuation". mint. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "PhonePe raises $100 million in additional funding". Financialexpress. 15 February 2023. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  26. ↑ "PhonePe gets another $100 million from General Atlantic; total funding rises to $850 million". The Economic Times. 23 May 2023. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  27. ↑ "PhonePe's Pincode Takes on Blinkit, Instamart Across Metros in Quick Commerce Game". Outlook Business. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  28. ↑ "PhonePe continues to earn nearly entire revenue from payments business". VCCircle. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  29. ↑ "PhonePe launches Share.Market app, enters stock broking business". Livemint.
  30. ↑ "PhonePe enters online stock broking with a new app". The Hindu. 30 August 2023. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  31. ↑ "PhonePe's Indus Appstore surpasses 1 mn installations in 1 month". www.fortuneindia.com. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  32. ↑ "PhonePe's Indus Appstore Crosses 1 Million Installations Within A Month". Outlook Business. 18 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  33. ↑ "PhonePe diversification strategy pays off, high revenue growth likely to sustain". Moneycontrol. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  34. ↑ "UPI market leader PhonePe becomes a public company ahead of IPO". Moneycontrol. 18 April 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  35. ↑ "PhonePe becomes public company amid mega IPO preparations". mint. 18 April 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  36. ↑ "PhonePe files draft prospectus for $1.5 billion IPO with Sebi through confidential route". The Economic Times. 24 September 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  37. ↑ Sen, Anirban (14 January 2017). "ICICI blocks PhonePe transactions in sign of banks moving to protect payments turf". Mint . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  38. ↑ Peermohamed, Alnoor (16 January 2017). "ICICI Bank blocks transactions through Flipkart wallet PhonePe". Business Standard . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  39. ↑ "NPCI instructs ICICI to allow UPI transactions on PhonePe immediately". The Economic Times . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  40. ↑ "After ICICI Bank, Airtel also blocks PhonePe - The Economic Times". The Economic Times . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  41. ↑ "NPCI says Flipkart's PhonePe does not follow UPI rules - The Economic Times". The Economic Times . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  42. ↑ IANS (21 January 2017). "PhonePe app in breach of UPI guidelines: NPCI". Business Standard . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  43. ↑ PTI (20 January 2017). "PhonePe in violation of UPI norms, says NPCI in U-turn". Mint . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  44. ↑ Nair, Vishwanath (21 January 2017). "PhonePe stops all UPI-based payments on Flipkart website". Mint . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  45. ↑ "ICICI Bank resumes UPI transactions on PhonePe - The Economic Times". The Economic Times . Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  46. ↑ Abrar, Peerzada (4 February 2021). "PhonePe distributes ESOPs worth Rs 1,500 crore among all employees". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  47. ↑ "PhonePe announces ₹135 cr ESOPs buyback programme from employees this year". Live Mint.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.