Scan to Success: PhonePe’s ₹7,631 Cr Fintech Revolution from Flipkart Roots to $15B IPO
In 2015, Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari, Flipkart alumni with a vision for seamless digital payments, founded PhonePe in Bengaluru to bridge India’s cash-heavy economy with mobile tech. Launched in August 2016 with Yes Bank, PhonePe leveraged UPI’s rise to become a fintech titan. Now Walmart-backed, it commands a 48.5% UPI market share, processing 310 million daily transactions worth ₹11.2 trillion monthly by October 2025. With 600 million users and 40 million merchants across 99% of India’s districts, PhonePe’s FY25 revenue hit ₹7,631 crore—up 40%—while losses shrank to ₹1,727 crore, paving the way for a ₹12,525 crore IPO at a $15 billion valuation by mid-2026.
Nigam, a 1983-born Delhiite with a NIT Kurukshetra B.Tech, honed his fintech chops at Microsoft and Flipkart, where he built scalable payment systems. Chari, a 1986 Mumbai native with a BITS Pilani degree, engineered Flipkart’s infrastructure alongside Nigam. Their shared vision—simple, inclusive payments—birthed PhonePe with Burzin Engineer. Acquired by Flipkart in 2016 for an estimated $10 million, it gained independence in 2022 post-Walmart’s 77% stake, shifting its HQ from Singapore to India with an ₹8,000 crore tax outlay. Demonetization in 2016 supercharged adoption, with PhonePe’s QR-code interface enabling billions in transactions by 2017.
From peer-to-peer transfers, PhonePe expanded into a super-app: bill payments, recharges, travel bookings, Gold SIPs from ₹100, insurance via ICICI Lombard, lending with Credit Line on UPI, and stockbroking through Share.Market. Its Pincode quick-commerce and Indus Appstore, preloaded on Alcatel devices, challenge e-commerce giants. International UPI in Singapore and Nepal, plus AI-driven fraud detection, boosts security. In October 2025, NPCI’s ‘collect request’ ban enhanced trust, aligning with PhonePe’s ₹1.5 crore AI training investment.
Financially, PhonePe shines. FY25 revenue soared 40% to ₹7,631 crore, with payments contributing ₹6,300 crore and insurance/lending tripling to ₹558 crore. Adjusted PAT turned positive at ₹197 crore, reversing a ₹738 crore loss, while free cash flow hit ₹1,202 crore. Q2 FY26 saw 7.23 billion UPI transactions (₹10.33 trillion), securing 45.88% volume share. Funding of $1.01 billion from Walmart, General Atlantic, and Tiger Global valued it at $12 billion in 2023, up from $5.6 billion in 2021.
The September 2025 DRHP filing for a $1.5 billion IPO, backed by Kotak and JPMorgan, targets a $15 billion valuation. The March 2025 10:1 stock split and conversion to PhonePe Limited signal readiness. Funds will fuel lending, insurance, and global expansion, navigating UPI caps and rivals like Paytm (7%) and Google Pay (36%).
PhonePe’s 72% tier-2/3 penetration and 50 lakh payment devices empower merchants and gig workers, driving $10 trillion digital flows annually. Nigam and Chari, with net worths of ₹1,600-2,500 crore each, took modest ₹5 crore FY24 salaries, prioritizing ESOPs (down 75% to ₹226 crore). Their Flipkart-honed grit—resolving a 2018 BharatPe suit and navigating 2024 policy hurdles—fuels innovation. “We’re India’s wallet—simple, secure, scalable,” Nigam told Business Outreach in 2025. As India’s digital economy eyes $1 trillion, PhonePe’s 600 million users prove fintech can transform lives, one scan at a time.
Last Updated on Thursday, October 23, 2025 1:55 pm by Entrepreneur Live Team
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