The digital payment platform PhonePe, which is a part of Flipkart Group that is controlled by Walmart Inc. has clocked over two billion transactions across the payment channels in October 2021. The company released a statement on Wednesday to reveal the numbers. Notably, this includes the payments made via the UPI and Bharat Bill Payment System. Back in February this year, PhonePe recorded one billion transactions a month. PhonePe has 145 million monthly active users and has recorded an annualised total payments value of $600 billion. Notably, the digital transactions have been made from over 19,000 pin codes that constitute over 99 percent of the country, claimed the statement from the payment platform as per ET Telecom.
PhonePe Witnesses Rapid Growth
The rapid growth of PhonePe was witnessed as it surpassed one billion transactions in just eight months. This growth indicates that there is a wider adoption of digital payments in the country, which has been accelerated further with the pandemic that has shut down the essential goods services in many parts across the country in the past 18 months. In terms of the value of the transactions that use UPI, it has crossed the $100 billion milestone for the first time in October 2021. There were 4.2 billion UPI transactions that amounted to Rs 7.71 lakh crore that was clocked in the month, thereby reaching all-time high in both terms for the payments channel. This growth was possible due to the increased demand for online shopping during the festive season. Also, the gradual reopening of the economy after the second wave of the pandemic contributed to this growth. Given that 80 percent of the tractions are from the tier 2 and tier 3 cities and beyond, there is clear evidence that digital payments have penetrated across the country’s length and breadth, added the CEO and founder of PhonePe, Sameer Nigam. However, cash is still the king in the country’s economy. When it comes to the ratio of cash circulation, it has touched a new high reaching 14.5 percent for the current fiscal year despite the decreased demand for it and the shrinking economy. On the other hand, the digital payments have grown three times since the fiscal year 2018.
