Fintech start-upPhonePe has reported over a billion P2M (peer-to-merchant) transactions on its platform in November 2021. P2M transactions include payments made by users at offline and online stores along with all utility payments such as recharges, bill payments, and financial services.
The company also claims to have digitized 25 million small merchants and kirana stores in India. PhonePe added that offline merchant transactions on its platform have shown 200 per cent growth since last year.
The company attributed this growth to the rapid expansion it has seen in offline merchant acceptance across geographies, with a 1.25 lakh strong field force who have been instrumental in driving and supporting the company’s merchant acceptance network across the country. PhonePe claims to have a merchant network across 15,700 towns and villages, constituting 99 per cent pin codes in the country.
Commenting on the announcement, Sameer Nigam, Founder & CEO, PhonePe said, “We are leading the industry on all key metrics which includes value and volume of transactions, registered users as well as merchant coverage. Earlier this year, we undertook the target of digitizing over 25 million kiranas across India, and we have achieved this milestone in record time, due to our relentless focus in making payments accessible to the last mile, and our strong execution capabilities.”
PhonePe claims to have over 335 million registered users. Using PhonePe, users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, pay at stores, make utility payments and also buy and invest in gold and silver. PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017 with the launch of gold providing users with a safe and convenient option to buy 24-karat gold, and recently also launched silver on its platform. PhonePe has since introduced several mutual funds and insurance products like tax-saving funds, liquid funds, international travel insurance, life insurance, and insurance for the Covid-19 pandemic among others.
