PhonePe Expands Card Payments with Visa Through Tap to Pay, Smart Accept Solutions

PhonePe is adding card payments to its UPI-heavy business with three new products developed with Visa, as per news reports. The fintech announced the offerings at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai on September 9, 2026. 

The new services cover contactless payments, international QR transactions, and card acceptance for small merchants. They build on PhonePe's Visa card tokenisation capability introduced in February 2025. 

PhonePe Brings Tap to Pay to Visa Cards 

Through Tap to Pay, Android users can tokenise their Visa cards within the PhonePe app and use them at contactless point-of-sale terminals. The physical card does not need to be carried for the transaction. 

PhonePe said the idea is to bring some of the ease associated with UPI into card payments, using tokenisation to make the process simpler. 

International QR Payments Added for Travellers 

PhonePe is also introducing Cross-Border Scan to Pay for Indian travellers. Users can scan Visa-supported QR codes across 14 international markets. 

The markets mentioned include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and South Korea. The service gives PhonePe users another way to make payments while travelling outside India. 

Small Merchants Can Accept Cards on Smartphones 

Its third offering, Smart Accept, is aimed at small businesses. Merchants can accept card payments directly through their smartphones, without requiring a separate card POS terminal. 

Customers can tap either a physical card or a tokenised wallet against the merchant's device. 

PhonePe Looks Beyond Its UPI Scale 

UPI accounts for 89% of digital transactions in India, although its average transaction value is lower than a typical card payment. Cards continue to have a role in higher-value transactions and online commerce. 

PhonePe had more than 71.5 crore registered users and an acceptance network exceeding 5 crore merchants as of July 2026, according to the company. 

Visa Sees Wider Payment Connectivity 

PhonePe founder and CTO Rahul Chari said the partnership is intended to reduce friction across the payments chain and create a more seamless card experience. 

Visa's India and South Asia Group Country Manager Suresh Sethi said combining Visa's network and tokenisation capabilities with PhonePe's reach could simplify payments and strengthen India's connection with the global economy. 

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Conclusion 

The three launches take PhonePe's card offering into everyday contactless payments, international QR transactions and merchant acceptance. They also give the company another payments segment alongside its large UPI business. 

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