UPI's dominance in India's digital payments market

PhonePe vs Google Pay vs Paytm: Who Leads India’s UPI Ecosystem in 2025? PhonePe maintains its leadership with a 45.74% market share, processing over 9.15 billion transactions worth nearly ₹24.85 lakh crore in September 2025. Google Pay follows with a 35.30% share and 7.06 billion transactions, while Paytm holds around 7.03% share with 1.41 billion transactions. All three uphold the NPCI’s daily transaction limit of ₹1 lakh and offer fee-free payments for users, with small merchant fees for wallet payments beyond ₹2,000. PhonePe’s SuperCoins, Google Pay’s scratch cards, and Paytm’s cashbacks and vouchers keep users engaged. PhonePe leads merchant acceptance with over 4.5 crore QR codes; Paytm has strong retail presence, and Google Pay dominates metros. Which app fits your payment style?

The best product doesn’t always win. The best distribution almost always does. Remember the early days of wallets? Paytm, Freecharge, MobiKwik where we had to top-up balances, and acceptance was patchy. Then UPI changed the game. No top-ups. One QR everywhere. Universal access. Wallets didn’t vanish. Amazon Pay, PhonePe, and GPay still exist but they won by riding UPI rails and embedding into behaviors people already had (shopping, recharges, bills). Same story elsewhere: 1. Zoom wasn’t the richest product. It just made adoption effortless. 2. WhatsApp Pay had the user base but failed to design distribution into daily behavior. Most teams still obsess over features. Few obsess over distribution design. The next big friction to remove isn’t “what more can we build?” It’s “how do we make adoption effortless, trusted, and embedded where people already are?” Because a great product without distribution is just potential energy. What do you think? #ProductManagement #ProductStrategy #ProductLeadership #Distribution #Growth #Fintech

Is #CRED copying PhonePe’s UPI playbook? I used to be a power user of Google Pay, from buying bread to paying bills, everything went through #GPay. It was smooth, simple, and trustworthy. But one fine morning, I switched to PhonePe, all because of a tiny feature I accidentally discovered: the Phonepe’s UPI widget. And now, even CRED is pushing for its own UPI widget. Because this small feature might just decide who wins the next round of India’s UPI war. Here’s why I think widget is a non negotiable strategy to capture the user’s mindshare: 1. They massively reduce friction by removing unnecessary taps. Just one tap, and you’re done. 2. Widgets are larger and more visible than app icons, creating stronger recall. Once you start using them, there’s no going back. 3. They build habit loops — the brain starts associating pay with tap widget. 4. And finally, the brand that owns your screen’s real estate, owns your attention. Have you noticed these subtle product nuances too? Which #UPI app do you use, and why?

In a sea of sameness of a crowded market, how do you stand out & build a new brand? Take the UPI app #fintech space. Crowded Market:  30+ UPI apps (not counting 600+ bank apps) offer the same functionality. Duopoly of Biggies:  PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm command ~90% of UPI volumes. 1/ Lets start with what consumers actually care about: -Speed of transaction -Reliability of success -Security & trust -Ease of use (intuitive UX, easy statements, simple flow) But are these ownable? These are hygiene factors, not differentiators. So where’s the white space? Let’s look at how new brands are trying: 2/ Navi → “Speed” narrative Positioned as the fastest UPI app. Loved thier slick recent campaign (in video). But is speed truly differentiating when others already operate in milliseconds? Dont think so. 3/ super.money → “Rewards” narrative The app claims 5% cashback on every UPI transaction. The Jonty Rhodes campaign (with "catch/cash back" connection :)) stretches your imagination (in video); but can cashbacks make a brand rememberable? Dont think so. 4/ MobiKwik → Wallet narrative  Tapping into UPI pain points: messy bank statements, bank acct privacy etc. I feel some ownable space of unique story (given paytm crisis made them miss wallet advantage); calls it as "Pocket UPI". 5/ Meanwhile, the biggies aren’t playing the hygiene game anymore; they’re building ecosystems: PhonePe → Add-ons: FASTag, insurance, UPI circles. Google pay → Use-cases: Train tickets, shopping, daily payments. Interestingly, all big ones have built distincitive assets to build memory too - “Tick Hai” (GPay) “Paytm Karo” (Paytm) "पे" in logo (Phonepe) (Only UPI app with devanagri letter in logo) What would be your wedge if you were launching the next #UPI app? ------- I write on #D2C #brand building, growth strategy, and #marketing insights. #runningmarketer

💡 How payment apps changed the way India pays bills A few years ago, paying a utility bill meant remembering your due date, finding the right portal, entering a 12-digit account number, and hoping the site didn’t crash mid-transaction. Today, that entire experience fits inside a single notification on your phone: > “Your electricity bill is ₹1,230 —> pay now?” ⚡ And millions of us do. Instantly. 🧾 The Shift: From Task to Habit Earlier, paying bills was a monthly chore. Now, it’s a habit loop built by design. Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm turned a cumbersome task into a one-tap ritual —> by combining convenience, personalization, and behavioral nudges. ✅ Auto-reminders before due date ✅ Pre-filled bill details (no typing, no errors) ✅ Rewards & cashback hooks (“scratch card unlocked!”) ✅ Instant success feedback (“Payment successful 🎉”) The friction disappeared —> and so did procrastination. #ux #userexperience #product

Ever noticed how your UPI handle looks different across apps? • On Google Pay, it’s @okhdfcbank • On Amazon Pay, it’s @apl • On Paytm, it could be @paytm • On BHIM, it’s simply @upi So why the difference? That little “@____” at the end of your UPI ID tells you which bank or system is powering your UPI transactions. 👉 @ybl → Yes Bank is PhonePe’s partner bank 👉 @okhdfcbank → HDFC Bank powers Google Pay 👉 @paytm → Paytm Payments Bank is handling it 👉 @upi → BHIM is run by NPCI (the creator of UPI itself), so it uses a neutral, system-level handle In simple terms: • The app is just the interface you see. • The bank and NPCI is the actual engine moving your money in seconds. And here’s something new: with the latest NPCI BHIM payment app, you can even create a UPI ID like yourmobilenumber@upi. No random strings, no confusion — just your number, powered by the bank you’ve linked. Look closer at your UPI ID — it’s telling you more than you think. If you want to learn more on UPI working, follow my earlier post: #DecodeFintechWithPoojaKanodia #UPI #BHIM #Fintech #VPA #Payments #GooglePay #PhonePe #Paytm #Bhim #AmazonPay #HDFCBank #YesBank #NPCI

💡 UPI – Powering India’s Digital Payments Revolution The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by NPCI enables instant, secure, and seamless money transfers anytime, anywhere. With features like Virtual Payment Address (VPA), 24x7 availability, and real-time settlement, UPI has become the backbone of India’s cashless economy. 📌 See the attached note for a quick breakdown of how UPI works and why it’s transforming digital transactions. 👉 What’s your go-to UPI app — Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, or BHIM? Flow: User → PSP App → Payer Bank → NPCI → Payee Bank → Confirmation → User Highlights: Instant transfers with real-time settlement Secure: End-to-end encryption, MPIN authentication, tokenization Apps & UX: Google Pay & PhonePe provide user-friendly experience + added features #UPI #DigitalPayments #FinTech #Banking #NPCI #GooglePay #PhonePe #Paytm #Innovation #CashlessIndia

Smaller UPI players nibble at veterans’ transactions share 📈 The race for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) market share is heating up, with smaller fintechs ramping up volumes and pushing into territory long dominated by PhonePe and Google Pay. 📌 Navi, Super.Money and Bhim have seen their UPI payment volumes surge by 50% to 100% over the past six months, fuelled by aggressive user acquisition and improved app experiences. What's behind the growth? ✍️ Heavy marketing and cashback campaigns. ✍️ Sleeker checkout processes and faster payment flows ✍️ New credit-linked features aimed at retention Story by: Pratik Bhakta

Paytm has launched ‘Paytm Postpaid’ on UPI, enabling consumers to make payments using a credit line across all merchant touchpoints. Powered by NPCI and offered in partnership with Suryodaya Small Finance Bank, the service introduces the concept of ‘Spend Now, Pay Next Month’, giving users access to instant short-term credit of up to 30 days. With this feature, Paytm users can scan any UPI QR code, shop online, recharge, pay bills, or make bookings directly on the Paytm app. The company said the service is currently available to a select base of users identified through their spending behaviour and will be expanded gradually. According to Paytm, the move not only gives individuals more flexibility in managing liquidity but also ensures universal merchant acceptance and instant settlement for businesses through the UPI ecosystem. #paytm #postpaid #services #launched #BuyNowPayLater #Credit #PaytmUpdates #startupUpdates #startupro

Paytm’s Business Model = Ecosystem Play Paytm operates as a multi-segment platform with strong cross-linkages between users, merchants, and financial partners. Its core revenue streams can be broken into three main pillars: 1️⃣ Payments & Financial Services (≈ 60% of revenue) Merchant & consumer payments (QR, UPI, Wallet, Cards) MDR, wallet loading fees, and financial product distribution Key driver: UPI-led transactions and merchant subscriptions 2️⃣ Commerce & Cloud (≈ 25%) Ticketing (travel, entertainment), loyalty & advertising solutions Cloud services for merchants and online payments integration Strong synergy with its payments network 3️⃣ Lending & Financial Products (≈ 15%) Partnered lending for small merchants & consumers Paytm Postpaid, personal & merchant loans Asset-light model with strong scalability ⚙️ Core Insight: Paytm isn’t just a payments company anymore — it’s building a financial super-app that monetizes every transaction node in India’s digital economy. 📌 Next (Day 11): A comparative look at Paytm’s competitive positioning in India’s fintech landscape — where it stands vs PhonePe & Google Pay. #Day10 #100DaysOfEquityResearch #Paytm #Fintech #DigitalEconomy #BusinessModel #EquityResearch #FinanceJourney #Investing Parth Verma #TVSchallenge