PhonePe – Startup that Broke 1 Billion+ Transactions in One Month Mark
PhonePe is an Indian digital payment platform that was started by Sameer Nigam, Burzin Engineer, Rahul Chari in 2015 and was acquired by Flipkart later. The app is available in 11 languages with user base of 280 Million.
PhonePe Startup Story - India’s $5.5 Billion Valued Digital UPI Way
Carrying cash is a cumbersome thing and, people are constantly searching for an easier way. PhonePe is a digital payment and financial services platform. It is an Indian startup that got founded in 2015 and makes our life comfortable. It has become a preferred way for recharge, bills payment, grocery shopping, buy insurance, liquid funds, mutual funds, etc. It also allows large transactions digitally and is available in 11 regional languages, and more than 280 million people use it. Let's get to know the success story of this excellent startup.
Fun Fact: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has licensed the app.
PhonePe got founded by Sameer Nigam, Burzin Engineer, and Rahul Chari.
Sameer Nigam - CEO of the comapny
Burzin Engineer - CIO of the company
Rahul Chari - CTO of the company
PhonePe co-founders Sameer Nigam (left) and Rahul Chari
PhonePe – Business Model
PhonePe has various features on its app but it is mainly a UPI-based platform. They allow the easy and safe transfer of money from one bank account to another and paying various bills such as electricity bills, water bills, restaurant bills, and other utilities. PhonePe also sells services and products like groceries, food, insurances, etc.
They have launched a POS machine that is available almost everywhere and, people can make payments using that system.
Note: It crossed more than 5 billion transactions in March 2020.
PhonePe – Revenue Model
PhonePe charges commission by promoting various products on its app and from the telecom companies. Every time customer recharges their phone through this app the company earns a commission. They have millions of customer base. The company continues to grow its user base through various offers and promotions on its app.
Revenue Fact - The company has earned revenue of $60 million in the financial year 2019-20. The company's revenue has almost doubled from the past financial years with significant growth in the business.
PhonePe Startup – Funding and Investors
PhonePe has collected funding of $1.4 billion in 12 rounds. It got funded by Flipkart and Walmart joining it once.
$33.4 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2017
$69.4 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2018
$42.7 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2018
$60 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2018
$101 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2019
$93.5 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2019
$54.7 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2019
$78.8 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2019
$59.6 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2020
$28 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2020
$700 million - Corporate Round, Walmart, 2020
$21 million - Corporate Round, Flipkart, 2020
PhonePe Success – Growth
PhonePe has seen the most growth amongst its rivals.
Its growth for the year 2019 was 857.22% and, all the other payments apps saw a growth of not more than 90%.
It is also leading from its rival, Google Pay. According to the data, PhonePe had 1293 million transactions, whereas Google Pay had 973 million transactions.
PhonePe has a market share of 46% in the UPI ecosystem and, Google Pay has 34%.
PhonePe Startup – Partnerships
PhonePe has partnered with various companies to provide maximum comfort to its users. Some of its partnerships are as follows:
Some of the awards and achievements of the company are as follows:
The highest number of merchant transactions by UPI - By NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India), 2018
UPI Digital Innovation Award - By NPCI, 2018
Best Mobile Payment Product or Service - By IAMAI India Digital Awards, 2018
Super Star Up Asia Award - 2018
India Advertising Award - 2018
Best Mobile Payment Product or Service - At India Digital Awards by IAMAI, 2019
Best Digital Wallet - At Indian Retail and eRetail Awards, 2019
Best Digital Wallet - At Annual Indian Retail & eRetail Awards by Zee Business and The Economic Times, 2019
PhonePe – Competitors
The phone is a strong player in the market. But it still has a lot of competitors that are performing well. Some of its main competitors are as follows:
Competitors Competitors are a challenge in every sector. PhonePe also has a lot of competitors in the market and, some of them are performing well. PhonePe will have to come up with various new features to attract customers.
Pandemic The current pandemic has affected a lot of businesses. Thus, PhonePe also became a victim of it. The country was in lockdown and, people were not allowed to go out of their homes. It affected a lot of businesses and, hence PhonePe also suffered because of this.
PhonePe Startup – Future Plans
Some of the upcoming plans of the company are:
To become profitable by 2022.
It is helping people to discover various products and shops online.
It is offering a chat service for both merchants and users.
PhonePe – Making Lives Easier
PhonePe has now become a need for many users in the country. Apps like PhonePe make our work simple and, thus, it is a boon for us. The app is for various purposes and, fulfills our basic need by doing our most of the job in just one click. The growth of the company is massive and, it is going to grow in the future.
Swati Chandra
I am an English Honours graduate from Delhi University and writing is my passion. I like writing sweet, fun, action-packed mysteries. My characters are clever and fearless, but in real life, I am afraid of basements, bees, and going upstairs when it is dark behind.
I have 2+ years of experience in this field and have worked with several websites as an intern.
PhonePe co-founders Sameer Nigam (left) and Rahul Chari
