PhonePe Partners Sri Lankan Ride-Hailing Major PickMe To Offer UPI Payments For Indians

Fintech giant PhonePe on Thursday (June 6) announced a partnership with Sri Lanka-based ride-hailing platform PickMe to offer UPI payments for Indian travellers in the country. 

The partnership will enable PhonePe to bolster its international presence and cater to the growing number of Indian tourists travelling to Sri Lanka. It will also help the fintech major shore up its transaction volumes and retain users. 

“Our partnership with PickMe exemplifies the company’s commitment to provide Indian travellers with convenient and trusted payment solutions… Now, with PhonePe, Indian tourists visiting the beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka can enjoy the ease and security of UPI payments for their rides,” said Ritesh Pai, CEO of internal payments at PhonePe.

Commenting on the collaboration, PickMe CEO Jiffry Zulfer said, “… This collaboration not only enhances the convenience for Indian travellers but also supports our mission to drive digital transformation in Sri Lanka’s transportation sector. By enabling QR payments, we are making travel easier and safer for tourists while also providing a new revenue stream for our drivers.”

The development comes a month after Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Santosh Jha launched PhonePe in Sri Lanka. 

This is the latest among the several pacts signed by PhonePe to expand its offerings in the neighbouring country as well as globally. In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched  UPI services in the island country during a virtual ceremony.

After that in April, PhonePe inked a pact with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to enable UPI payments for Indian visitors in Singapore. 

Meanwhile, PhonePe continues to enjoy the highest market share in India’s UPI ecosystem, accounting for 48.87% of the total transactions in May.

On a broader level, PhonePe has been on a launch spree in recent times with an eye on diversifying its product mix. Just a few days ago, it launched secured lending products on its platform in partnership with banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and other fintech firms.

Additionally, PhonePe recently also collaborated with banks and NBFCs to enter the merchant lending space. It has already consolidated its position as a distribution platform for various insurance offerings in collaboration with players like Acko and others.

PhonePe clocked a revenue of INR 2,914 Cr in FY23, up nearly 77% from INR 1,646 Cr in FY22. Meanwhile, net loss surged 39% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 2,795.3 Cr during the period under review.