PhonePe is gearing up to introduce consumer lending on its platform by January 2024, as reported by The Economic Times (ET) on Monday, citing information from two individuals familiar with the matter. The startup, backed by Walmart, plans to offer personal loans while establishing credit underwriting.
According to the ET report, PhonePe is in the final stages of integration with five banks and non-banking finance companies. Additionally, in a later phase, PhonePe may explore the possibility of offering a credit line.
Earlier this month, PhonePe celebrated surpassing the 500 million user milestone, making it the first Indian internet company to achieve this scale globally. The company’s Founder and CEO, Sameer Nigam, expressed his surprise at reaching 500 million registered users in such a short period. He stated, “Yet, we have achieved only 50 per cent of our vision statement of bringing digital payments to 1 billion Indians.”
PhonePe had reached a 350 million user base in January 2022. The company highlighted that with this achievement, one in three Indians is now on PhonePe, achieved in just over seven years since the launch of PhonePe UPI payments in August 2016.
In response to its growth, PhonePe made strategic promotions within the organization. Hemant Gala was elevated to the role of CEO for PhonePe’s lending business, and Vishal Gupta was promoted to the CEO role for PhonePe’s insurance business. Vivek Lohcheb became the CEO for Pincode, and Ujjwal Jain was appointed as the CEO of the share market, leading the company’s wealth and broking business.
In the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), PhonePe recorded a 77 per cent growth in consolidated revenue, amounting to Rs 2,914 crore, attributed to market expansion and digital money transfers. This marked a significant increase from the Rs 1,646 crore revenue posted in the financial year 2022.
