PhonePe expected to launch consumer lending by January next year: Report

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PhonePe is expected to launch consumer lending on its platform by January 2024, The Economic Times (ET) reported on Monday, citing two people aware of the matter. The startup, which is backed by Walmart, will distribute personal loans while building up credit underwriting.


The ET report added that PhonePe is in the final stages of integration with five banks and non-banking finance companies. In the later stage, PhonePe may also look at a credit line offering.


Earlier this month, PhonePe announced that it had crossed the user mark of 500 million. According to the company’s statement, it became the first Indian internet company to have reached this scale of 500 million users globally.


Post the announcement, it also announced the promotion of several senior officials across verticals.


“When we started PhonePe, I had never imagined that we would get to 500 million registered users in such a short span of time. It feels almost surreal. Yet, we have achieved only 50 per cent of our vision statement of bringing digital payments to 1 billion Indians,” PhonePe Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sameer Nigam said in a statement.


The company had crossed 350 million user base in January 2022.


“With this milestone, 1 in 3 Indians are now on PhonePe. This milestone has been achieved in just over 7 years since the PhonePe UPI payments launched in August 2016,” the company said in a statement.


PhonePe elevated Hemant Gala to the role of CEO for PhonePe’s lending business. He had been part of the founding team at PhonePe and has worked across multiple businesses over the past 7 years. The company also promoted Vishal Gupta to the role of CEO for PhonePe’s insurance business.


Vivek Lohcheb was promoted to the role of CEO for Pincode. Moreover, the company appointed Ujjwal Jain as the CEO of the share market. He now leads the company’s wealth and broking business.


Earlier this year, PhonePe registered a 77 per cent growth in consolidated revenue to Rs 2,914 crore for 2022-23 (FY23) on account of market expansion and digital money transfers. The Walmart group company had posted revenue of Rs 1,646 crore in the financial year 2022.


(With agency inputs)