Payments Startup Phi Commerce Raises $4 Mn In Series A Round Led By BEENEXT

Pune-based digital payments firm Phi Commerce has raised $4 Mn in a Series A funding round led by Singapore-based venture capital firm BEENEXT. Yatra Angel Network (YAN) also participated in the round. 

Founded in 2015, Phi Commerce has created PayPhi, an omnichannel payment processing platform which processes digital payments at doorstep, online and in-store across a variety of form factors such as cards, internet banking, UPI, Aadhaar, BharatQR, wallets, NEFT, RTGS, and NACH. 

The company claims that its PayPhi digital enablement suite has been developed with the goal of empowering large untapped sectors, dominated by cash and cheque payment modes, to adopt digital payments. The company claims that it processes 100 Mn monthly transactions and has a presence in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India.

Phi Commerce would utilise the funds to bolster its product offering, expand in existing markets and enter new geographies, as per a statement.

“The need to eliminate friction in payments with 100% reliability is a universal requirement across advanced as well as emerging economies and we are confident we will soon be replicating this success in global markets,” said Jose Thattil, CEO and cofounder at Phi Commerce.

Last year, Phi Commerce was one among the 24 winners at the Maharashtra Startup Week. In the fintech category, Phi Commerce’s solution was recognised for its potential to optimise efficiency for mature digital champions while taking digitally challenged businesses and consumers up the digital payments curve. Each of the winning startups was promised work orders of up to INR 15 Lakh ($21.3K). This would enable them to demonstrate their proofs of concept (PoCs) and pilot their solutions in the state.

Meanwhile, fintech was the top-funded sector for Indian startups in 2020. Fintech startups received $2.1 Bn of funding in the year, followed by enterprise tech ($1.7 Bn) and consumer services ($1.6 Bn). 

The rise of D2C (direct to consumer) and ecommerce, as well as contactless payments, has widened the addressable market opportunity for fintech products, driving up investor confidence in the sector.

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