New Delhi, September 9 (Daily Kiran) : PhonePe introduced its vision for the next decade during the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 in New Delhi on September 9. In his keynote address, CEO Samir Nigam outlined the company’s strategic roadmap aimed at advancing digital progress for individuals, families, and businesses across India. This reflects PhonePe’s journey of technological innovation and extensive expansion over the past decade.
Samir began by discussing PhonePe’s core philosophy and its commitment to inclusive growth. He stated, “Real progress is not measured by how fast the top 10 percent are moving ahead, but by whether we are leaving anyone behind.” Over the last decade, PhonePe has positioned itself as a technology leader guiding India’s progress. Every product within their ecosystem has been thoughtfully designed to eliminate barriers to financial security and development for all.
He emphasized that true financial inclusion is not about creating different products based on socio-economic classes. Instead, it involves developing a system flexible enough to meet the needs of every Indian. Samir highlighted PhonePe’s collaboration with the NPCI to systematically address the barriers that have long excluded people from the digital economy, including challenges related to smartphones, bank accounts, and geographical limits.
Discussing hardware-related barriers, he pointed to the expansion of UPI 123Pay, which aims to bring over 200 million feature phone users into the digital economy. This system utilizes SMS, IVR, missed calls, and voice-based technology to provide full UPI functionality directly to feature phones. In partnership with leading companies, over 800,000 such devices have already been shipped.
Samir also shared how products like UPI Circle allow primary account holders to securely manage expenses for their dependents, making digital payments a daily habit for families. Addressing geographical barriers, he noted that PhonePe has expanded UPI services for travelers in countries like Singapore, UAE, France, and Nepal. Additionally, it has simplified digital payments for over 3.5 crore NRIs through NRE/NRO accounts.
To enhance access to savings and wealth for the general public, Samir introduced PhonePe’s “Sachetization” philosophy. He compared it to the easy availability of a ₹2 shampoo sachet, illustrating how the platform transforms large financial investments into manageable daily habits. This initiative aims to provide easy access to financial products for daily wage workers and small businesses.
Key features include PhonePe Daily FD, allowing users to start fixed deposits with just ₹100 daily, and options for Daily Gold, Silver, and Mutual Fund SIPs beginning at ₹10. Addressing the need for investment guidance, he presented CRISP, a tool offering users real-time market insights. He noted that this platform can easily adapt to the needs of high-net-worth individuals, including lump-sum investments and F&O trading.
To improve access to credit, Samir explained that PhonePe’s AI-based underwriting system now enables loan distribution in just 2.5 minutes. He pointed out the limitations of traditional credit scoring systems, citing the example of a vegetable vendor who, despite consistent sales, remains invisible in such systems. PhonePe is addressing this by using daily settlement history as a credit score for automated daily-repayment merchant loans, thus reaching millions of users without prior credit histories.
He also highlighted the recently launched Wish Credit Card, which helps first-time borrowers establish a credit history through a simple FD. Premium features like RuPay credit cards on UPI are available in partnership with SBI and HDFC.
Expressing enthusiasm about growth opportunities in the merchant ecosystem and broader economy, Samir unveiled a comprehensive set of smart tools designed to drive substantial business growth. A key component of this is the newly revamped PhonePe Business app, which serves as a gateway for hyperlocal online advertising, personalized market insights, and no-code payment setups.
This ecosystem includes innovations like SmartConnect, SmartStore, physical store innovations, and PhonePe payment gateway enhancements, offering features such as data-driven CRM, loyalty engines, smart speakers, and AI audio alerts. Personal audio payment alerts can now be delivered in the voice of popular celebrities, along with several other features integrated into the ecosystem.
Concluding the session, Samir introduced PhonePe Plus Pro, a hyperlocal intelligence platform that leverages data from over 11 billion transactions each month. This platform provides insights based on mapped data at the level of small geographical areas, aiding businesses and policymakers in making strategic development decisions.
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