Tag: PhonePe

TechPulse

PhonePe Launches Biometric Authentication for UPI Payments

rencygomes02

Written by Intern Rency Gomes || Team Allycaral 

PhonePe has announced the rollout of biometric authentication for UPI payments, offering users a faster and more seamless ‘one-touch’ payment experience. The feature enables customers to authorise transactions using their smartphone’s native security — such as fingerprint or facial recognition — eliminating the need to manually enter a UPI PIN for eligible transactions.


With this launch, PhonePe becomes one of the first major digital payments platforms in India to introduce biometric-based authentication at scale.

Secure & Seamless Transactions

The feature is designed to enhance both security and convenience in the digital payment journey. By leveraging device-level biometric verification, users can transact securely even in crowded public spaces, reducing risks such as PIN exposure or “shoulder-surfing.”

In addition to improving security, biometric authentication is expected to increase transaction success rates by minimising failures caused by forgotten or incorrectly entered UPI PINs. A seamless fallback mechanism is built into the system, allowing users to instantly switch back to their UPI PIN in case biometric authentication is affected by issues like poor lighting or sensor limitations.

Regulatory Compliance & Usage

In accordance with regulatory guidelines, biometric authentication will function as a secure two-factor authentication layer for UPI transactions up to ₹5,000. Transactions exceeding this limit will continue to require standard UPI PIN verification.

Users can access biometric payments across multiple use cases, including peer-to-peer transfers, in-store QR payments, online transactions, and even checking bank balances.

Deep Agrawal, Head of Payments at PhonePe, stated that the integration marks a significant step toward making digital payments more intuitive and secure for Indian consumers, while adding an extra layer of hardware-grade security.

How to Enable Biometric Payments
Users can activate the feature by following these steps:
Open the PhonePe app
Go to Profile
Tap on Manage Payments
Select the Biometric Pay option
Enable Biometric Authentication for UPI Payments for respective bank accounts
Confirm using UPI PIN and biometric authentication for one-time setup
The feature is currently available for Android users, supporting both fingerprint and facial recognition. iOS support is expected to roll out soon.

TechPulse

10 Years of PhonePe: A Decade of Building for Bharat

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

PhonePe recently marked a significant milestone, completing ten years in India’s fintech ecosystem and celebrating a decade of innovation, growth and impact. Since its inception, the company has played a pivotal role in transforming the way India transacts and manages money, steadily expanding financial access across urban and rural Bharat alike.

In 2025, PhonePe crossed a major milestone by surpassing 600 million registered users, reinforcing its position as a cornerstone of India’s digital economy. The year focused strongly on deepening trust and improving accessibility with the introduction of features such as UPI Circle, which enables delegated payments for trusted contacts, and PhonePe Protect, a robust security framework designed to safeguard users against fraudulent transactions.

Strengthening its support for merchants, PhonePe introduced Made-in-India solutions like the SmartSpeaker and SmartPOD, helping small and medium businesses embrace digital payments with ease. Through the Udyam Assist initiative, launched in partnership with SIDBI, PhonePe became one of the first institutions to enable digital-first integration for MSMEs, streamlining their access to formal credit and financial services.

For consumers, the platform expanded beyond payments by launching affordable protection products such as Home Insurance and Health Insurance, aimed at India’s “Missing Middle.” PhonePe also unlocked liquidity through innovative lending solutions, including Loan Against Mutual Funds, ensuring essential financial services are accessible to a wider population.

Reflecting on the journey, Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO of PhonePe, said that despite how far the company has come, the most exciting part is that the summit is still not in sight. He highlighted the passion of the teams behind PhonePe and noted that the journey continues to be meaningful and energising as the company builds for the future.

Rahul Chari, Founder and CTO, expressed pride in what PhonePe has built over the past decade, acknowledging the goodwill and support received from the industry and the wider ecosystem. He emphasised that building something people truly believe in is what turns an idea into real impact.

Over the years, PhonePe has consistently redefined the Indian fintech landscape through industry-first innovations. From Digital Gold and Mutual Funds to making Insurance and Stock Broking accessible to the masses, the platform has evolved into a comprehensive financial ecosystem. Key milestones include the PhonePe Business app for merchants, Merchant Lending, Credit Line on UPI, Cross-Border UPI, UPI Lite, and the 2024 launch of the Indus Appstore, Share.Market and secured lending platforms.

By relocating its domicile to India in 2022 and steadily expanding into credit and wealth management, PhonePe has moved beyond being a payments utility to becoming an integral part of India’s financial fabric, ensuring that access to protection, investment and credit continues to reach every citizen as it builds for Bharat.

Finance

UPI Market Share in July 2025: PhonePe Leads the Digital Payments Race

Tanisha Cardozo

India’s UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ecosystem continues to grow rapidly, and July 2025 data shows a clear winner emerging in the digital payments race.

According to the latest numbers, PhonePe has secured a commanding 46.7% share of the UPI transaction volume, reaffirming its position as India’s leading payments app. Google Pay remains a strong contender at 36.2%, while Paytm trails at 7.1%. The remaining 10% is split among smaller players in the ecosystem, including banks’ own UPI apps and emerging fintech platforms.

📌 Key Highlights:

  • PhonePe leads the market with seamless integration and broad merchant support.
  • Google Pay remains a preferred choice for many due to its clean interface and strong brand trust.
  • Paytm continues to hold relevance but faces stiff competition from the top two players.
  • The “Others” category—at 10%—includes apps like Amazon Pay, BHIM, CRED, and banking apps.

India’s digital payment space is increasingly consolidated, with PhonePe and Google Pay collectively holding over 80% of the market. This duopoly reflects consumer preferences for reliability, cashback incentives, and a smooth user experience.

As UPI adoption deepens across tier-2 and tier-3 cities, players that innovate on ease of use and ecosystem integration will continue to thrive.

Business

UPI Alert: P2P ‘Collect Request’ Feature to Be Discontinued from October 1, 2025

Tanisha Cardozo

If you frequently use apps like PhonePe, Google Pay, or Paytm for sending or receiving money, there’s a major update you need to be aware of.

In a circular dated July 29, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that the P2P “Collect Request” feature on UPI platforms will be discontinued from October 1, 2025.

What Is the P2P Collect Request Feature?

This feature allows UPI users to send a payment request to another user, often used to remind friends or family to share bills or pending payments. However, it has become a significant vector for scams and phishing attempts.

Fraudsters commonly use this to trick users into accepting fake requests under the pretense of emergencies or professional roles, leading to unauthorized debits from the victim’s account.

Why Is It Being Removed?

Despite a ₹2,000 limit per transaction, fraud cases have continued. NPCI has decided to remove the feature entirely for P2P payments to improve user safety.

From October 1, 2025, you’ll only be able to send money via:

✅ QR code scanning
✅ Selecting the contact number manually
✅ Entering the UPI PIN for authorization

Will Merchant Transactions Be Affected?

No. UPI collect requests from verified merchants like Flipkart, Amazon, Swiggy, and IRCTC will remain unaffected.
Users will still have to approve the request and enter their UPI PIN to complete the transaction, maintaining security protocols.

Key Takeaways for Users:

  • ❌ P2P UPI collect requests will stop from October 1, 2025
  • ✅ Continue using QR codes and contact-based UPI transfers
  • 🔒 The move aims to significantly reduce fraud risks
  • 🛍️ Merchant transactions will still function normally
Business

UPI Transactions to Become Faster from June 16, 2025

allycaralgoa

New Delhi, June 16, 2025 – The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced significant improvements to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system, aiming to enhance transaction speeds and user experience. Effective today, UPI transactions will witness a substantial reduction in response times, benefiting users and payment service providers alike.

⏱️ Reduced Response Times

In a move to streamline the payment process, NPCI has decreased the response time for various UPI transaction stages:

  • Request and Response Transactions: The time has been reduced from 30 seconds to 10 seconds.
  • Valid Address Transactions: The time has been cut from 15 seconds to 10 seconds.

These changes are expected to make UPI transactions faster and more efficient, enhancing the overall user experience.

📱 Impact on Payment Service Providers

Major payment platforms such as Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm are set to benefit from these improvements. With reduced response times, these platforms can process transactions more swiftly, leading to quicker payment confirmations and enhanced user satisfaction.

🔐 Enhanced User Experience

To further improve the user experience, NPCI has introduced the following measures:

  • Increased Balance Check Attempts: Users can now check their account balance up to 50 times per day.
  • Account-Related Searches: Users can perform up to 25 account-related searches daily.
  • Mandate Attempts: Each mandate will have one attempt, with three additional retries allowed in case of failure.

These enhancements aim to provide users with more flexibility and convenience when using UPI services.

📆 Looking Ahead

As UPI continues to evolve, NPCI remains committed to improving the digital payment ecosystem in India. The recent changes are part of ongoing efforts to ensure that UPI remains a reliable, secure, and user-friendly platform for all users