PhonePe to foray into UAE in maiden foreign outing

Domestic fintech PhonePe, which holds the highest market share among UPI payments, on Wednesday announced that it is all set to launch operations in the UAE in what will be its maiden global foray.

The company has received a licence from the Central Bank of UAE and will soon be operationalising the same, its Founder and Chief Executive Sameer Nigam told reporters on the sidelines of the annual Global Fintech Festival here.

"PhonePe will be launching its local operations in the UAE as our first foreign market," he said, adding that over the next 10 years, it will be a global business.


Through the licence, PhonePe will be able to undertake a slew of activities, including the launch its own wallet, gift card, remittance services for the diaspora and also do local merchant acquiring, he added.

"If you are a UAE citizen, hopefully in the near future you will be able to make payments on a UAE point of sale (PoS) device and also send money to India," Nigam said.

The CEO of the IPO-bound company declined to comment over the introduction of merchant discount rate (MDR) in India for UPI transactions, but quipped that he will be able to speak about the share sale once clarity emerges on the MDR.