# PhonePe

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/phonepe
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-07
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [PhonePe — official](https://www.phonepe.com/)
- [PhonePe — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhonePe)

## Supported standards

This wallet supports the following visual-code standards:

- [`phonepe-qr`](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/phonepe-qr)

## Overview

**PhonePe** is **India's largest digital-payments app + dominant Unified Payments Interface (UPI) wallet** — operated by **PhonePe Limited** (formerly PhonePe Private Limited until April 2025) with **Walmart Inc. as majority shareholder** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN)</sup>. By **April 2025**, PhonePe held **47.99% of UPI transaction volume** + processed **8.54+ billion transactions in June 2025** + reached **~450 million monthly active users + 580+ million total users**. PhonePe rides on India's **[UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr)** instant-payment rail + **Bharat BillPay** + **RuPay** national card scheme + **[Bharat QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bharat-qr)** national QR standard.

## History

**December 2015 — Founded** by **Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari, and Burzin Engineer** <sup>[2][2]</sup>.

**April 2016 — Acquired by Flipkart** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: PhonePe became Flipkart's payments arm.

**2018 — Walmart acquires Flipkart** <sup>[2][2], [3][3]</sup>: PhonePe came along in the transaction (Walmart now owned both Flipkart + PhonePe).

**December 2020 — Partial split announced** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: Flipkart and PhonePe declared partial split with Walmart maintaining majority ownership in PhonePe + the two entities functioning independently.

**2022 — Domicile shift + full separation** <sup>[2][2], [4][4]</sup>: PhonePe shifted domicile from Singapore to India + completed full separation from Flipkart. Walmart remained the fintech's biggest shareholder.

**April 2025 — Converted to public company** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Renamed from **PhonePe Private Limited** to **PhonePe Limited** as part of IPO preparation.

**September 2025 — SEBI confidential pre-filing for IPO** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Filed draft papers with SEBI for IPO via the confidential pre-filing route.

**March 2026 — IPO shelved** <sup>[5][5]</sup>: PhonePe paused IPO plans citing geopolitical tensions + volatile stock market; "remains committed to going public once market conditions improve."

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **PhonePe Limited** (India-domiciled since 2022).

**Majority shareholder**: **Walmart Inc.** (via Flipkart historical acquisition path; majority retained through 2020 partial split and 2022 full separation) <sup>[2][2], [3][3]</sup>.

**Founders**: Sameer Nigam (CEO), Rahul Chari (CTO), Burzin Engineer.

**Regulator**: **Reserve Bank of India (RBI)** — license type: payment aggregator + payment service provider.

**Network sponsor**: **National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)** — operates the UPI rail PhonePe rides on.

## Technical integration

PhonePe is **a multi-rail Indian digital-payments wallet** <sup>[1][1], [upi-cro]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Primary rail** | **[UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr)** — full integration, dominant UPI app |
| **Bill payments** | **Bharat BillPay** (BBPS) — major biller relationships |
| **Card integration** | **RuPay** national card scheme (PhonePe Card issuance) |
| **QR acceptance** | **[Bharat QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bharat-qr)** + UPI QR codes universally |
| **Identifiers** | Phone number, VPA (Virtual Payment Address), QR code |
| **Channels** | iOS + Android mobile apps, web (PhonePe.com) |
| **Authentication** | UPI PIN, biometrics, device-bound |

## Users & growth

**As of April-June 2025** <sup>[6][6], [7][7]</sup>:
- **Market share**: 47.99% of UPI transaction volume (PhonePe Statistics 2025); 48.34% (March 2025 outlook); ~50% per ArthNova analysis.
- **Monthly transactions**: **8.54+ billion** (June 2025), processed in the single month.
- **Monthly UPI transactions over 2025**: ~9.8 billion average.
- **Total registered users**: 580+ million.
- **Monthly active users**: 450+ million.

**FY25 financial performance** <sup>[6][6]</sup>:
- **Revenue**: ₹7,115 crore (+74% YoY per Outlook Business; +40% YoY per CoinLaw — sources differ on baseline).
- **Profit**: ₹630 crore (first profitable year reported).
- **Annual UPI transactions**: 1,25,945 million (~126 billion), +29.4% YoY.
- **Annual UPI value**: ₹26.3 lakh crore (~$315 billion).
- **Annualized total payment volume (TPV)**: ₹150+ lakh crore (~$1.8 trillion).

## Use cases

**P2P UPI transfers** <sup>[India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN)</sup>: Cardinal — instant, free, phone-number/VPA-addressed.

**Merchant QR payments via Bharat QR / UPI QR** [[upi-cro]]: Universal small + large merchant acceptance across India.

**Bill payments via BBPS** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Utilities, telecom, insurance premiums, education fees.

**Mobile + DTH recharges** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Cross-MNO airtime + DTH.

**Investments + insurance distribution** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Mutual funds, gold, insurance — PhonePe's expansion beyond payments.

**Lending (PhonePe Lending platform)** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Loan distribution.

**International expansion** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Active in **UAE, Singapore** for outbound Indian-user payments at international merchants via UPI cross-border partnerships.

## Implementations & partners

**Banking partners** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Multiple Indian banks for VPA issuance + settlement (Yes Bank historically, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank).

**Card-network partner**: **RuPay** (PhonePe-RuPay credit-card-on-UPI integration).

**Cross-border partners** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: NPCI International for **UPI-PayNow Singapore** + **UPI-LankaPay Sri Lanka** + UAE merchant acceptance.

**Merchant ecosystem**: 40+ million merchants accept PhonePe (small + large).

**Network sponsor**: **NPCI** (UPI rail operator + BBPS operator).

**Regulator**: **RBI**.

## Fun facts

- **Founded December 2015**: 10-year operational history.
- **Acquired by Flipkart 4 months after founding**: April 2016, rapid acquisition.
- **Walmart's $16B Flipkart deal (2018) implicitly valued PhonePe**: PhonePe was a substantial portion of that transaction's strategic value.
- **2022 domicile shift Singapore → India**: Unusual for fintech (usually goes the other way for tax/IPO reasons); PhonePe shifted *into* India to enable Indian IPO.
- **April 2025 → PhonePe Limited**: Converted to public company in April; IPO filed September; shelved March 2026 — entire IPO cycle compressed to ~1 year.
- **~48% UPI market share**: Largest single-player share in any major instant-payment network globally (compare: Pix dominated by 5+ major Brazilian banks evenly).
- **First profitable year FY25**: ₹630 crore profit on ₹7,115 crore revenue.
- **PhonePe processes ~half of all UPI transactions in India**: UPI itself crossed 20 billion transactions in August 2025 ([[upi-cro]]).

## Comparison

| Feature | PhonePe | [Google Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/google-pay) (India) | [Paytm](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/paytm) (India) | [BHIM](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/bhim) (NPCI reference) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **PhonePe Limited (Walmart-majority)** | Google LLC (India subsidiary) | One97 Communications / Vijay Shekhar Sharma | NPCI (public-sector) |
| UPI market share (2025) | **47.99%** | 36.1% | 7% | ~5% |
| Monthly UPI transactions | **8.54B (June 2025)** | 6.54B | Declining post-RBI restrictions | Lower |
| Total users (2025) | **580M+** | 150M+ (UPI users in India) | 300M | 50M |
| IPO status | **Shelved March 2026, public-company since April 2025** | Subsidiary of Alphabet | Listed 2021 (BSE/NSE) | Government-backed, no IPO |
| Strategic positioning | **Walmart-backed; financial-services super-app expansion** | Tech-giant ecosystem play | Founder-led; full fintech super-app | NPCI's reference UPI app |

**Choice criterion**: PhonePe leads on **distribution + merchant network + market share**; Google Pay competes on **Google ecosystem integration + UX simplicity**; Paytm competes on **broader fintech super-app breadth (Paytm Money, Paytm Bank)**; BHIM competes on **NPCI-backed neutrality** (often pre-installed on government-sponsored devices).

## Status

**Active, dominant** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [5][5], [6][6]</sup>:
- **Operator**: PhonePe Limited (Walmart majority).
- **Country**: India (primary) + UAE + Singapore (international).
- **Standards**: [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr), Bharat BillPay, RuPay, [Bharat QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bharat-qr).
- **Scale (2025)**: ~48% UPI market share, 8.54B+ monthly transactions, 580M+ total users, 450M+ MAU.
- **IPO**: Shelved March 2026 (pending market conditions); public-company structure since April 2025.

## Sources

[1]: https://www.phonepe.com/ "PhonePe — official"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhonePe "PhonePe — Wikipedia"
[3]: https://www.businesstoday.in/entrepreneurship/story/flipkart-phonepe-complete-separation-walmart-continues-to-be-a-majority-stakeholder-357516-2022-12-23 "Flipkart-PhonePe separation — BusinessToday"
[4]: https://www.phonepe.com/press/flipkart-completes-full-separation-of-phonepe/ "Flipkart-PhonePe full separation — PhonePe Press"
[5]: https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/16/walmart-backed-phonepe-shelves-ipo-as-global-tensions-rattle-markets/ "PhonePe shelves IPO — TechCrunch"
[6]: https://www.outlookbusiness.com/news/upi-transactions-surge-to-1830-billion-in-march-phonepe-maintains-market-lead "UPI 18.3B + PhonePe market lead — Outlook Business"
[7]: https://www.bwdisrupt.com/article/phonepe-leads-indias-upi-race-with-4673-share-in-april-2025-556514 "PhonePe leads UPI 46.73% April 2025 — BW Disrupt"
[in-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN
[upi-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/standards/upi-qr

- [1] [PhonePe — official][1]
- [2] [PhonePe — Wikipedia][2]
- [3] [Flipkart-PhonePe separation — BusinessToday][3]
- [4] [Flipkart-PhonePe full separation — PhonePe Press][4]
- [5] [PhonePe shelves IPO — TechCrunch][5]
- [6] [UPI 18.3B + PhonePe market lead — Outlook Business][6]
- [7] [PhonePe leads UPI 46.73% April 2025 — BW Disrupt][7]
- <sup>[India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/IN-india.md`
- [upi-cro] In-corpus: `reports/standards/upi-qr.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [phonepe.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/phonepe). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.