PhonePe Limited acquires the IP of conversational engagement platform Gupshup’s proprietary ‘GSPay’ technology stack to enable UPI-based payments for keypad phones. Through this acquisition, PhonePe aims to provide all basic UPI features, such as P2P transfers, offline QR payments, and receiving money from any other UPI customer to their mobile numbers or self-QRs seamlessly in keypad phones. 

Through this, PhonePe aims to create full payment interoperability between keypad or feature phone and smartphone users and bring crores of Indians who still use feature phones into the Indian digital payments ecosystem. This brings the company to the forefront of innovation in the fintech sector, enabling not only the app’s presence but also helping penetrate the technology deeper into the nation’s geography. 

To read about UPI's latest transaction figures recorded in May, click here! 

Mega Numbers of Keypads 

India had around 24 crore feature phone users in 2024, with another 15 crore devices expected to ship over the next five years. This presents a major opportunity to bring millions of underserved users into the digital payments ecosystem, advancing the country’s financial inclusion goals.

Boost to Digital Payments 

Ensuring the reach of UPI-based systems to the feature phones intends to supercharge India’s digital payments ambitions by bridging the digital divide to a standard and keeping up with the innovation, even in the technology-deprived areas. 

This will also enable a revolution in the vision of a technologically forward nation, making strides in enabling its people with the latest innovation to ensure seamlessness and convenience in financial or banking landscapes. 

Enabling the Undeserved 

Speaking on this acquisition, Sameer Nigam, co-founder and CEO at PhonePe, said, “We are excited about acquiring the GSPay technology stack and using it to bring UPI payments to India’s extensive feature phone user base. This segment of users has been historically underserved by the digital financial industry and the broader startup ecosystem. We hope we can enable crores of these feature phone customers to participate in India’s burgeoning digital payments market.”

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Bringing India together 

This initiative by PhonePe aims to bring together not only the different geographies but also bridge the gaps among the people through technology. Empowering the keypad users to experience the new-age technology would enable them to join the market club, enabling specific innovations for them too. 

This increases the challenges of the business as a company with high capital intensity enters into the landscape with a promise of superior technology, making inclusion and bridging both seamless and a near dream.