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India ’s payments regulator is set to decide as ahead of time as Monday whether tocurb the dominance of Walmart ’s PhonePe and Googlein the nation ’s fast - growing mobile payments market , a move that could reshape how its billion - plus universe moves money .
The determination centers on UPI , or Unified Payments Interface , a net backed by more than 50 retail bank that has interchange how Indians compensate for everything from groceries to taxi rides . The platform process over 13 billion transactions monthly , making it one of the world ’s largest digital payment networks . It ’s also , by far , the most popular way Indians transact online .
At issue is whether the National Payments Corporation of India , which reports to India ’s primal banking concern , will implement a rule specify company tohandling no more than 30 % of all UPI dealings .
The formula , firstproposed in 2020 , would particularly affect Walmart - owned PhonePe , which handles 47.8 % of all UPI payments , and Google Pay , which process 37.1 % .
The uncertainty has discombobulate a wrench into PhonePe ’s plans to go public . The inauguration , prise at $ 12 billionand back by Walmart , would be one of India ’s most prominent technology IPOs . PhonePe ’s Colorado - laminitis and primary executive director , Sameer Nigam , say in August that the inauguration can not go public “ if there is uncertainty on the regulative side . ”
“ If you are buying a share at radius 100 and you price it assuming we have 48 - 49 % marketplace share , then there is an uncertainty about whether it will come down to 30 % and by when , ” said Nigam ( pictured above ) at a fintech conference . “ We are request them [ the governor ] , if they can line up another style to at least resolve whatever their concern are or tell us what the list of concern is . ”
The issue also impacts the ontogeny potential of numerous fintech startups that are attempting to make deeper inroad in digital payment . If the regulator imposes limitation on PhonePe and Google Pay ’s ability to onboard newfangled drug user or order a check on how many transactions they swear out , many other inauguration stand to gain grounds .
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The regulator is be given to delay enforcing the cap again or may increase the limit to more than 40 % , the great unwashed brief on the site distinguish TechCrunch . The federal agency has already push back the deadline several time , from January 2021 to 2023 , and then to 2025 , as it contend with implementation . It has held talks with many stakeholders as lately as last calendar week over the decision .
Enforcing a limitation on the marketplace share will impact the consumer experience , some of the multitude said .
The post highlights India ’s efforts to equilibrate technological initiation with market contention . UPI has been a cornerstone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s push to digitalize India ’s thriftiness and dilute its reliance on cash . The system allows instant transport between bank accounts using simple-minded identifiers like phone numbers , making it more accessible than traditional banking services .
A market part roof would score one of India ’s most significant interventions in its engineering sphere , which has appeal monumental investments from global companies like Walmart , Google , and Meta . These companies view India , with its young , increasingly digital population , as a crucial increment grocery store .