PhonePe Expands UPI Payment Solutions with GUPay Technology
PhonePe is enhancing its digital payment services through the acquisition of the GSPay technology stack from Gupshup, designed to facilitate UPI-based payments on feature phones.
About GSPay Technology
GSPay is a mobile application that leverages NPCI’s UPI payment solution specifically for feature phones (referred to as UPI 123PAY). This technology enables easy payment processing for users who do not own smartphones.
PhonePe’s Future Plans for GSPay
Following this acquisition, PhonePe intends to tailor and expand the GSPay intellectual property. The company is set to introduce a dedicated UPI payment mobile application for feature phones in India over the forthcoming quarters.
Key Features of the Upcoming Mobile App
The new app will offer essential UPI functionalities, including:
- Peer-to-peer transfers
- Offline QR payments
- Money receiving capabilities from other UPI users via mobile numbers or self-generated QR codes
This initiative is designed to ensure seamless payment interoperability between feature phone and smartphone users, integrating millions of Indians still utilizing feature phones into the digital payment ecosystem.
Addressing User Needs
Sameer Nigam, the co-founder and CEO of PhonePe, highlighted that this user segment has traditionally been neglected by the digital finance sector and the wider startup landscape. The aim is to empower millions of feature phone users to engage in India’s rapidly growing digital payments sector.
PhonePe’s Diverse Portfolio
Besides UPI payments, PhonePe’s offerings encompass financial products, including insurance, lending, and wealth management, alongside new technology ventures such as Pincode and Indus AppStore.
The Market Landscape
Market analysis suggests that India had around 24 crore feature phone users in 2024, with an estimated additional 15 crore feature phones expected to ship over the next five years.
PhonePe’s Growth Trajectory
Since its inception in 2016, PhonePe has amassed over 60 crore (600 million) registered users and established a digital payments acceptance network that spans more than 4 crore merchants. The platform handles over 33 crore transactions each day, contributing to an Annualized Total Payment Value (TPV) exceeding Rs 150 lakh crore.