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PhonePe

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PhonePe
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Digital payments & Financial services
Available inMultilingual (11)
Founded2015; 9 years ago (2015)
HeadquartersSalarpuria Softzone, Bengaluru, Karnataka,
India[1]
Area servedIndia
Founder(s)
IndustryInternet, E-commerce, Fintech, Financial services, Mutual funds, Insurance, Digital gold, Payment gateway, ONDC, Lending, Wealth Management
Services
RevenueIncrease ₹2,914 crore (US$350 million) (2023)[3]
ParentWalmart
URLphonepe.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
Users500 million[4]
Current statusActive
Native client(s) onAndroid
iOS

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

The PhonePe app is accessible in 11 Indian languages.[10] 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.[11][12]

History

PhonePe was incorporated in December 2015.[13] In April 2016, the company was acquired by Flipkart[14][15] and as part of the acquisition, the FxMart license was transferred to PhonePe and rebranded as the PhonePe wallet. PhonePe's founder Sameer Nigam was appointed as the CEO of the company.[16]

In August 2016, the company partnered with Yes Bank to launch a UPI-based mobile payment app, based on the government-backed UPI platform.[2][17][18]

In 2022, they were launching international UPI payments, allowing Indian users traveling abroad to pay foreign merchants with Unified Payments Interface (UPI).[19]

In 2022, PhonePe obtained licensing from the Reserve Bank of India for operating a Semi-Closed Prepaid Payment system.[20][21]

Ownership and funding

In December 2020, Flipkart and PhonePe declared a partial split, with Walmart maintaining its majority ownership in PhonePe and the two entities now functioning independently.[22]

PhonePe announced the acquisition of $350 million from General Atlantic, a US growth equity firm, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.[23] Subsequently, another $100 million was attained 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. This brings the total amount of funding raised by PhonePe to $850 million.[24][25]

Licenses received

In April 2021, PhonePe Wealth Broking Private Limited, a subsidiary of PhonePe, registered with the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a Stock Broker.[26]

In August 2021, PhonePe Insurance Broking Services Private Limited, a subsidiary of PhonePe, received an insurance broking license from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). This registration allows the company to distribute insurance products from all insurance companies in India.[27][28]

In March 2022, it  was also registered as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the Bharat Bill Payment Systems (BBPS).[29][30]

In January 2023, PhonePe Technology Services Private Limited, a subsidiary of PhonePe, obtained regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an Account Aggregator.[31]

In March 2023, PhonePe obtained an In-principle approval from the RBI to serve as a Payment Aggregator.[32]

Awards and recognition

  • In 2018: Won the UPI Digital Innovation Award from NPCI in 2018.[33]
  • India Advertising Awards 2018 in the Telecom and Technology category[34]

On 14 January 2017, ICICI bank blocked PhonePe transactions, citing the reasons that it did not meet the NPCI guidelines.[35][36] Initially, on 19 January 2017, NPCI instructed ICICI to allow UPI transactions via PhonePe.[37] During this period, Airtel too blocked PhonePe transactions on its platforms.[38] A day later, on 20 January 2017, NPCI renounced the previous instructions citing the reason that PhonePe indeed violated the UPI norms.[39][40][41]

After this, PhonePe closed its operations on Flipkart's website,[42] to align itself with the terms stated in the updated verdict from NPCI. By February, 2017, PhonePe resolved the issues with ICICI and Airtel.[43][44]

ESOP

PhonePe allots employee stock options (ESOPs) to its full time employees.[45] 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.[46]

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. ^ a b c "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 revenue jumps 77% to Rs 2914 crore in FY23". Livemint.
  4. ^ "PhonePe crosses 500 million registered users, alters top deck". The Economic Times. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  5. ^ "PhonePe Becomes Fastest Growing Distributor of Insurance Technology in India". Deccan News. 25 August 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Top ten Indian Fintech unicorns - ET BFSI". ETBFSI.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  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. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ Reporter, B. S. (2 April 2016). "Flipkart buys mobile payments company PhonePe for an undisclosed sum". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "Sameer Nigam: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  17. ^ "7 things you must know about the PhonePe app from Flipkart". Flipkart Stories. 2 January 2017. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  18. ^ "YES BANK and PhonePe have Partnered to Launch India's 1st UPI Based Mobile Payment App - Press Release". Yes Bank. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "Reserve Bank of India - Publications". rbi.org.in. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  21. ^ "Terms of user | PhonePe". PhonePe. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  22. ^ Singh, Manish (23 December 2022). "Flipkart and PhonePe complete separation". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "PhonePe raises $100 million in additional funding". Financialexpress. 15 February 2023. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  25. ^ "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.
  26. ^ "PhonePe launches UPI-based AutoPay functionality for mutual fund SIP investments". www.thehindubusinessline.com. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  27. ^ "PhonePe receives insurance broking licence". www.thehindubusinessline.com. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  28. ^ Livemint (30 August 2021). "PhonePe receives insurance broking licence from Irdai". mint. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  29. ^ www.npci.org.in https://www.npci.org.in/what-we-do/bharat-billpay/product-statistics/live-customer-bbpous?TSPD_101_R0=08f002952bab2000e33479988523272b7e9db28ab6471b6805076ef9199f97bc613c3d3cdd3ae1ab0846bdbf55143000cd54d0113def80e8b7cd0e8cebcd6e9f576631b9d6a47bd0d7be71529f0be6ede300dcdb9ba15257a4fe4ab30d33af9c. Retrieved 30 July 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ^ "Customer BBPOUs". www.bharatbillpay.com. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  31. ^ "PhonePe introduces account aggregator services". www.thehindubusinessline.com. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  32. ^ "PhonePe gets payment aggregator licence, reaches $1 trillion annualised payment value run rate". The Economic Times. 11 March 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  33. ^ Kannan, Uma (6 August 2018). "PhonePe eyes top slot in digital payments". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  34. ^ "MullenLowe Lintas Group and Ogilvy dominate the IndIAA Awards". Campaign India. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ 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.
  37. ^ "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.
  38. ^ "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.
  39. ^ "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.
  40. ^ 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.
  41. ^ 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.
  42. ^ 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.
  43. ^ "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.
  44. ^ "Flipkart's PhonePe resolves issues with ICICI, claims 70x growth". Moneycontrol.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  45. ^ 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.
  46. ^ "PhonePe conducts Rs 135-crore ESOP buyback". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
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