PhonePe’s calls are paying off

In a world of fragile Fintechs, PhonePe’s has been a stand-out story. As it closes in on ten years of its existence, revenues have crossed Rs 5,000 crore. These have come largely from payments transactions, a business which most believed, could at best be a loss-leader. Not only are revenues flowing in, they are doing so with much less incentivising than in the initial years; the cash backs —used to win over customers—are now down to just Rs 15 crore from approximately Rs 950 crore in FY19. And net of Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) costs, profits in FY24 were Rs 197 crore. Business has been especially brisk for use-cases such as money transfers, mobile recharges and bill payments.