PhonePe raises funds to take on Google Tez & WhatsApp

Flipkart's payments platform, PhonePe has received Rs 518 crore infusion from Singapore-based Flipkart Payments Private Limited, according to a regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies(RoC).

The investment is part of the $500 million commitment Flipkart made to invest in PhonePe last year.

In a note shared with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Bangalore-based payments company said it received Rs 518.2 crore in lieu of 24.5 lakh equity shares in the company.

The latest funding comes at a time when the UPI platform has seen entry of global names like WhatsApp Pay and Google’s Tez which are disrupting the payments landscape here. The fresh capital will provide ammunition to PhonePe in its fight against global giants as well as local player like Paytm that claims to be India’s largest digital payments firm.

Flipkart acquired PhonePe in April 2016. The app has around 75 million downloads and claims to have the highest share of merchant transactions on UPI through bill payments, merchant payments and recharges.