ePaisa Payment Gateway : India's mobile payments giant PhonePe revenues soar 77% YoY in FY2023

PhonePe has announced its financial results for the financial year ending 31 March 2023. The 'unicorn' in the fintech space reported an impressive annual consolidated revenue growth of $77%, totalling INR 29.14 billion. This revenue surge was largely attributed to PhonePe's market expansion strategy and its leadership position in the digital payments space, especially in key revenue areas such as remittances, mobile recharges and bill payments.

In contrast, PhonePe's strong rival Paytm's revenue from operations grew by 61% year-on-year to INR79.9bn. PhonePe is steadily gaining ground in the competition in the Indian fintech space.

Notably, as of March 2023, PhonePe's share in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) India's total payment value (TPV) reached 50.541 TP3T.

Despite having over 490 million registered users and over 22.5 million monthly active users (MAUs), PhonePe faced financial challenges in FY2023. Specifically, its standalone entity PhonePe India Pvt Ltd's EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, Amortisation and Amortisation) losses have increased by 8.871 TP3T year-on-year. these losses have grown from INR16.12 billion in FY2022 to INR17.55 billion in FY2023.

However, PhonePe's financials for FY2023 look more positive in the adjusted financials, especially after excluding charges related to employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).

In FY2023, the company issued a large number of ESOPs for two main purposes: as a strategic element of the company's restructuring and as a special incentive to incentivise the establishment of new businesses. Based on this restructuring, PhonePe achieved an EBITDA profit of INR 1.59 billion (excluding ESOP charges) in FY2023, a significant improvement over the INR 4.55 billion loss reported in FY2022, marking an important milestone for the Indian payments operating entity.

PhonePe's growth path is not limited to financial strength. In FY2023, the fintech startup took three key actions to lay a solid foundation for its future growth in the Indian fintech space.

Firstly, the company managed to become independent by completely divesting itself from the Flipkart Group. It was like a fledgling leaving the nest to explore new horizons.

Secondly, PhonePe moved its registered address from Singapore to India. This shift is not just geographical, but symbolises a strong commitment to the domestic market and a closer alignment with the country's regulatory framework.

Finally, PhonePe secured INR 70.21 billion in equity financing from esteemed long-term investors such as General Atlantic, Walmart, Ribbit Capital, TVS Capital Funds and Tiger Global. This round of funding brings PhonePe's valuation to a staggering $12 billion, providing exciting opportunities for the company's future growth.

In an era of rapid change in the financial sector, Walmart-affiliated fintech giant PhonePe has garnered a lot of attention through a series of game-changing innovations. With the start of the new fiscal year 2024, the company embarked on a journey to redefine business and consumer interaction with financial services.

On 14th June 2023, PhonePe launched its online payment gateway designed for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. With the rise of the digital economy, it has become critical to provide MSMEs with a seamless online payment channel.

Just nine days later, on 23 June, PhonePe boldly launched its business lending platform. The initiative aims to bridge the business credit gap by allowing banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs) to provide digital, seamless credit to over 35 million PhonePe merchants.

On 6 July 2023, PhonePe revolutionised offline payments through its POS devices. These handheld devices enable merchants to accept payments not only limited to debit cards, but also credit cards and UPI (Unified Payment Interface).

On 30 August 2023, PhonePe entered the stockbroking industry in a big way with the launch of an application called "Share.Market". This strategic move puts PhonePe in direct competition with established companies such as Zerodha and Grow.

With an impressive financial performance in FY2023 and continuous rollout of innovative initiatives, PhonePe holds a key position in the Indian FinTech space, positively shaping the landscape for future growth and transformation. This article is shared for informational purposes only and is copyrighted to the original author and publisher. In case of any infringement, please contact us for removal.