PhonePe

PhonePe is an Indian digital wallet platform and online payment company headquartered in Bangalore, India.[6] PhonePe was founded in December 2015,[3] by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer.[7] The PhonePe app, based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), went live in August 2016.[8]

PhonePe Private Limited
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Financial service
Available inMultilingual (10)[1]
Founded2015 (2015)
HeadquartersAshford Park View, Bangalore, Karnataka,
India[2]
Area servedIndia
Founder(s)
IndustryInternet
E-commerce
Services
Revenue ₹42.79 crore (US$6.0 million) (FY 2018-19)[4]
ParentFlipkart
SubsidiariesSolvy Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd
URLwww.phonepe.com
RegistrationRequired
Users218 million[5]
Current statusActive

The PhonePe app is available in over 11 Indian languages.[9] Using PhonePe, users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, make utility payments, pay at shops, invest in tax saving funds, liquid Funds, buy insurance and mutual funds and gold.[10] In addition PhonePe also allows users to book Ola rides, pay for Redbus tickets, and book flights and hotels on Goibibo through the Switch platform.[11]

PhonePe is accepted as a payment option at over 10 million[12] offline and online merchant outlets across 400 cities in India covering food, travel, groceries, medicines, movie tickets etc.[13] The app crossed 100 million user mark in June 2018[14] and also crossed 5 billion transactions in December 2019.[15] It currently has over 200 million users.[16] The company launched the PhonePe ATM in January 2020.[17] The PhonePe ATM allows neighbourhood Kirana stores to dispense cash in real-time to customers.

PhonePe is licensed by the Reserve Bank of India for issuance and operation of a Semi Closed Prepaid Payment system with Authorization Number: 75/2014 dated 22 August 2014.[18][19]

History

FxMart received its licence to operate on 26 August 2014. PhonePe was incorporated in December 2015.[20] In April 2016, the company was acquired by Flipkart.[21][22] and as a part of the Flipkart acquisition, the FxMart license was transferred to PhonePe and it was rebranded as the PhonePe wallet. PhonePe's founder Sameer Nigam was appointed as the CEO of the company.[23]

In August 2016, the company partnered with Yes Bank to launch a UPI-based mobile payment app, based on the government-backed UPI platform.[3][24][25]

Within 3 months of launch, the app was downloaded by over 10 million users.[26] In 2018, PhonePe also became the fastest Indian payment app to get a 50 million badge on the Google play store.[27] The PhonePe app overtook BHIM to emerge as the market leader in UPI transactions in August 2017.[28]

Innovation and Partnerships

PhonePe helps merchants to accept payments through all UPI-based apps, debit and credit card, as well as wallet (Including third party wallets) on the app.

In October 2017, PhonePe launched a low-cost POS device built in India. The Bluetooth enabled POS device looks like a calculator and works with AA batteries. The hardware uses Bluetooth connectivity and enables payments through all the mobile devices that can access the PhonePe app.[29][30]

PhonePe partnered with Freecharge in January 2018. This partnership enabled PhonePe users to link their existing Freecharge wallets to the PhonePe app.[31] PhonePe has also entered into similar partnerships with Jio Money and Airtel Money.[32]

PhonePe has partnered with RedBus,[33] Ola, eat.fit,[34] Goibibo, Swiggy[35] along with over 180 consumer brands for integrating their existing PWAs (progressive web apps) or mobile-sites to its Switch platform. These partnerships enable businesses of all sizes to build and deploy apps on PhonePe Switch with a unified login and payments experience for users.[36]

In 2019, PhonePe launched tax-saving funds to help customers minimize their tax burden by investing in equity-linked saving schemes.[37][38] In the same year, PhonePe also became the first payment app to allow customers to make bids for Initial Public Offerings through the UPI platform.[39]

In January 2020, PhonePe became the first digital payment platform in India to launch international travel insurance.[40] PhonePe also launched Liquid Funds in association with Aditya Birla Mutual Fund to provide the combined benefits of a fixed deposit and a mutual fund.[41]

In February, PhonePe launched the chat feature on its app to enable its users to have conversations with each other within the app while requesting money or confirming the receipt of payment.[42]

In May, PhonePe partnered with general insurers Bajaj Allianz and ICICI Lombard to launch two separate coronavirus-specific insurance products for covering hospitalization costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.[43][44] It also launched Super Funds in the same month to aid long-term wealth creation by helping customers invest in equity, debt, and gold funds of mutual fund companies.[45]

In June, the company launched domestic multi-trip insurance to cover all risks associated with all modes of travel within India at an affordable annual premium.[46][47]

Awards and recognition
  • 2018: recognized by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for driving the largest number of merchant transactions on the UPI network.[48]
  • 2018: Best Mobile Payment Product or Service Category at the IAMAI India Digital Awards 2018.[49]
  • 2018: Won the UPI Digital Innovation Award from NPCI in 2018.[50]
  • 2018: Won the SuperStarUp Asia Award in 2018.[51]
  • 2018: Awarded at the India Advertising Awards 2018 in the Telecom and Technology category.[52]
  • 2019: Won the ‘Best Mobile Payment Product or Service’ at the 9th India Digital Awards 2019 organised by IAMAI.[53]
  • 2019: 'Best Digital Wallet' Initiative at the Indian Retail and eRetail Awards 2019.[54]
  • 2019: Awarded the 'Best Digital Wallet' initiative at the 8th Annual Indian Retail & eRetail Awards 2019 organised by Zee Business and The Economic Times.[55]

On 14 January 2017, ICICI bank blocked PhonePe transactions, citing the reasons that it did not meet the NPCI guidelines.[56][57] Initially, on 19 January 2017, NPCI instructed ICICI to allow UPI transactions via PhonePe.[58] During this period, Airtel too blocked PhonePe transactions on its platforms.[59] A day later, on 20 January 2017, NPCI renounced the previous instructions citing the reason that PhonePe indeed violated the UPI norms.[60][61][62]

After this, PhonePe closed its operations on Flipkart's website,[63] to align itself with the terms stated in the updated verdict from NPCI. By February, 2017, PhonePe resolved the issues with ICICI.[64][65]

Donations

During COVID-19 pandemic in India PhonePe decided to contribute ₹10 for every single user who pays to the PM CARES fund via their app with a aim to donate ₹100 crore.[66]

See also

References
  1. "PhonePe Summary". CNET. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. "Contact Us". PhonePe, Pvt Ltd. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  4. "Revenue Rs 43 cr, loss Rs 791 cr; PhonePe burning Rs 18 for every rupee earned in market share war with Paytm". Manoj Sinha. Business Today. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  5. "Phone Pe crosses 100 million users", Peerzada Arbar, The Hindu, 2 June 2018, retrieved 2 June 2018
  6. Singh, Abhinav (10 March 2020). "Why digital payment firms should not rely on single bank". The Week.
  7. Chanchani, Madhav (4 April 2016). "Flipkart acquires former executive's startup PhonePe for payments push". The Economic Times.
  8. Sen, Anirban (10 January 2017). "Flipkart's PhonePe crosses 10 million downloads on Google Play Store". Mint.
  9. "5 digital payment platforms you can use during Coronavirus Lockdown". India Today. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  10. Dasgupta, Brinda (23 March 2018). "Payments platform PhonePe looks to double its team". The Times Of India.
  11. "PhonePe launches 'Phonepe Switch', a shortcut for apps - ET BrandEquity". The Economic Times. 19 September 2019.
  12. Tewari, Saumya (14 February 2020). "PhonePe earmarks ₹800 crore marketing budget to take on competition". Mint.
  13. "PhonePe's offline merchant base crosses 5-million mark". The Financial Express (India). 21 June 2019.
  14. "PhonePe crosses 100 million users". The Hindu. 2 June 2018.
  15. www.ETBrandEquity.com. "PhonePe crosses five billion transactions on the app - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  16. Shrivastava, Aditi. "Flipkart invests $90 million more in marketplace, PhonePe platform". The Economic Times. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  17. Abrar, Peerzada (23 January 2020). "PhonePe launches digital ATM, users can withdraw cash from merchant shops". Business Standard. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  18. "Reserve Bank of India - Publications". rbi.org.in. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  19. "Terms of user | PhonePe". PhonePe.
  20. "Flipkart : India's most preferred online shopping store". The Indian Wire. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  21. Reporter, B. S. (2 April 2016). "Flipkart buys mobile payments company PhonePe for an undisclosed sum". Business Standard. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  22. "Flipkart acquires former executive's startup PhonePe for payments push". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  23. "Sameer Nigam: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  24. "7 things you must know about the PhonePe app from Flipkart". Flipkart Stories. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  25. "YES BANK and PhonePe have Partnered to Launch India's 1st UPI Based Mobile Payment App - Press Release". Yes Bank. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  26. Pani, Priyanka (12 January 2018). "PhonePe adds 10 million users in 9 weeks". Business Line.
  27. "Paytm vs Google Pay vs PhonePe: Who is winning?". Moneycontrol.com. 24 December 2019.
  28. "PhonePe overtakes Bhim in UPI transactions - Times of India". The Times of India. 20 September 2017.
  29. Dalal, Mihir (1 November 2017). "Flipkart's PhonePe launches PoS machine for small merchants". Mint (newspaper).
  30. Allirajan, M (31 October 2017). "PhonePe launches Made for India POS device". The Times of India.
  31. "PhonePe strikes strategic partnership with FreeCharge". Business Standard. 9 January 2018.
  32. "PhonePe adopts FMCG approach for tie-ups with local merchants". The Hindu Businessline. 19 February 2018.
  33. M, Allirajan (17 January 2018). "Redbus: PhonePe, redBus launch app-in-app platform - Times of India". The Times of India.
  34. "PhonePe Switch drives growth for Eat.Fit - ET BrandEquity". The Economic Times. 20 December 2019.
  35. "PhonePe: Swiggy, PhonePe join hands for simplified payment". The Economic Times. 22 March 2018.
  36. Chaturvedi, Anumeha (11 October 2018). "OYO partners with payments platform PhonePe". The Times of India.
  37. Manikandan, Ashwin (9 January 2020). "PhonePe allows to invest in liquid mutual funds". The Economic Times.
  38. "Want to save addl income tax? This new app will save you whopping Rs 46,800". Zee Business. 28 March 2019.
  39. Manikandan, Ashwin (17 September 2019). "Flipkart-owned PhonePe first non-bank to enable UPI-based IPO bidding". The Economic Times.
  40. Dugh, Harish (23 January 2020). "PhonePe does a first in India, launches International Travel Insurance in digital payment platform space". Zee Business.
  41. Singh, Shipra (8 January 2020). "PhonePe Launches Liquid Fund. Should You Invest?". Entrepreneur.
  42. "PhonePe introduces chat feature on app to ease digital transactions via texts". Mint. 3 February 2020.
  43. "ICICI Lombard ties-up with PhonePe for multi-trip insurance - ET BFSI". The Economic Times. 9 June 2020.
  44. Dubey, Navneet (9 April 2020). "How PhonePe's coronavirus insurance policy works". The Economic Times.
  45. Abrar, Peerzada (4 May 2020). "PhonePe launches Super Funds to help users in long-term wealth creation". Business Standard.
  46. Malik, Yuvraj (19 September 2019). "PhonePe's super-app platform 'Switch', a one stop solution for customers". Business Standard India. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  47. Banerjee, Prasid (22 January 2020). "PhonePe now allows customers to withdraw cash using UPI". livemint. Mint. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  48. "PHONEPE Becomes Largest UPI Player, Leaps Ahead Of PAYTM AND TEZ". Digit. 2 August 2018.
  49. "Payment and Fintech Awards". Iamaiida.
  50. Kannan, Uma (6 August 2018). "PhonePe eyes top slot in digital payments". Deccan Herald.
  51. Verma, Amit (30 May 2018). "Second Edition of SuperStartUps Awards concluded in Delhi on 30th May". StartupSuccessStories.
  52. "MullenLowe Lintas Group and Ogilvy dominate the IndIAA Awards". Campaignindia.
  53. "IAMAI - India Digital Awards". IAMAI.
  54. "Best Digital Wallet". Irec. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  55. "Indian Retail & eRetail Congress 2019 - Awards Winner". IReC Asia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  56. Sen, Anirban (14 January 2017). "ICICI blocks PhonePe transactions in sign of banks moving to protect payments turf". Mint. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  57. Peermohamed, Alnoor (16 January 2017). "ICICI Bank blocks transactions through Flipkart wallet PhonePe". Business Standard. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  58. "NPCI instructs ICICI to allow UPI transactions on PhonePe immediately". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  59. "After ICICI Bank, Airtel also blocks PhonePe - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  60. "NPCI says Flipkart's PhonePe does not follow UPI rules - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  61. IANS (21 January 2017). "PhonePe app in breach of UPI guidelines: NPCI". Business Standard. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  62. PTI (20 January 2017). "PhonePe in violation of UPI norms, says NPCI in U-turn". Mint. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  63. Nair, Vishwanath (21 January 2017). "PhonePe stops all UPI-based payments on Flipkart website". Mint. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  64. "ICICI Bank resumes UPI transactions on PhonePe - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  65. "Flipkart's PhonePe resolves issues with ICICI, claims 70x growth". Moneycontrol.com. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  66. "COVID-19: PhonePe launches donation drive, aims to contribute Rs 100 crore to PM Fund". The Financial Express. PTI. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.