Phonepe Eyes Growth Across Payments and New Platforms Ahead Of IPO

PhonePe, backed by Walmart, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) expected in April, according to its draft documents. The proposed issue will be entirely an offer for sale of 5.06 crore shares by existing investors, including Walmart, Microsoft and Tiger Global.  

There will be no fresh capital raised through the issue. The company received regulatory clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in January after a confidential filing in September. 

Payments Market Seen Expanding 

As per PTI report, the company said digital payments will remain its main area of focus. It plans to grow its user base and expand the reach of its platform. As per the report, India’s digital consumer payments market at ₹301 lakh crore in FY25. This is projected to reach between ₹602 lakh crore and ₹681 lakh crore by FY30. 

As of March 31, 2025, PhonePe reported more than 29 crore active users. This represents about 41-42% of India’s smartphone users. The country had an estimated 69-70 crore smartphone users in FY25, a number expected to rise to 96-108 crore by FY30.  

Push Into Feature Phones 

The company is also targeting feature phone users, estimated at 20-30 crore people. In June 2025, it acquired Gupshup’s SPay technology stack to enable UPI payments on these devices.  

The draft papers also refer to possible use cases such as credit on UPI, transit payments across transport networks and payments through connected devices. 

Merchant Adoption Remains Uneven 

Merchant payments form another area of expansion. Digital merchant payment penetration in India stood at about 45% in FY25, compared with around 93% in China. Merchant payment volumes were estimated at ₹112 lakh crore in FY25 and are projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 20-22% through FY30. 

India has an estimated 5.6-5.8 crore small and micro merchants. Around 1.11 crore merchants transact monthly on PhonePe, with about 67.5 lakh active daily. 

Other Businesses and Financials 

PhonePe is also scaling its financial services distribution, including lending and insurance, and investing in newer platforms such as Share.Market and the Indus Appstore. 

In FY25, the company reported revenue of ₹7,115 crore, up 40% year on year, while adjusted profit after tax rose to ₹630 crore. 

Read More: PhonePe Pre-IPO Move: Founders Offload ₹3,937 Crore; New Regulations Lead to ₹1,500 Crore Hit! 

Conclusion  

The company is positioning its core payments business alongside financial services and platform initiatives as it prepares for the public markets. The proposed IPO will not include a fresh issue of shares. 

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