Walmart-backed PhonePe, which aims to float its initial public offering (IPO) in April, plans to deepen its presence in India’s digital payments market while expanding into financial services and new consumer platforms.

In its draft papers, the company said digital payments will remain the core driver of growth, supported by investments to expand its user base, addressable market and platform scale.

India’s total addressable market for digital consumer payments stood at ₹301 lakh crore in fiscal 2025 and is projected to grow to ₹602-681 lakh crore by fiscal 2030, the company said, citing industry estimates.

According to sources, PhonePe is aiming to launch its IPO in April.

The proposed offering will be entirely an offer for sale of 5.06 crore shares by Walmart, Microsoft and Tiger Global, with no fresh issue component.

In January, the company received regulatory approval from the SEBI to proceed with its maiden public offering, following its confidential filing in September.

To expand its consumer base, PhonePe plans to deepen penetration across smartphones and feature phones.

India had an estimated 69-70 crore smartphone users in fiscal 2025, which is projected to rise to 96-108 crore by fiscal 2030, while feature phone users are estimated at 20-30 crore, according to the DRHP.

In June 2025, PhonePe acquired conversational engagement platform Gupshup’s GSPay technology stack to enable UPI-based payments on feature phones. The company said it is also exploring future consumer use cases, such as credit on UPI, transit payments across transport modes and payments through smart and connected devices.

“We are also focused on future consumer-facing opportunities, such as enabling all forms of credit on UPI, building transit solutions across all modes of transportation, and expanding consumer touchpoints through smart and connected devices across homes and vehicles,” the company said.

As of March 31, 2025, PhonePe had over 29 crore active customers, representing about 41-42 per cent of India’s smartphone user base, indicating significant headroom for growth.

On the merchant side, PhonePe plans to expand adoption of digital payments in a market where penetration remains well below global peers. India’s digital merchant payment penetration stood at about 45 per cent in fiscal 2025, compared to China’s 93 per cent, according to a report by RedSeer.

Merchant digital payment volumes in India reached ₹112 lakh crore in FY25 and are projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 20-22 per cent through FY30, supported by government initiatives, such as the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) scheme.

India has an estimated 5.6-5.8 crore small and micro merchants, 30,000-40,000 mid-market businesses and over 20,000 large enterprises.

However, only about 1.11 crore merchants transact on PhonePe on a monthly basis, with around 67.5 lakh engaging daily, highlighting further scope for penetration, the company said.

PhonePe is also scaling its financial services distribution business, including lending and insurance. Beyond its core businesses, the company plans to invest in new platforms to diversify revenue streams, including Share.Market, its digital investing and wealth management platform and an indigenous mobile app store, Indus Appstore.

The company’s financial performance improved in FY25, with revenue rising 40 per cent year-on-year to ₹7,115 crore, while adjusted profit after tax more than tripled to ₹630 crore.

Published on February 8, 2026

The India-US trade deal is expected to trigger sustained foreign portfolio inflows into Indian markets as overseas investors regain confidence in the country’s growth trajectory, with the week ending February 6, 2026 marking a decisive shift as FPIs turned net buyers after weeks of relentless selling.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) invested a net $897 million into Indian stocks during the week, according to data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), signalling a potential reversal in sentiment that could gather momentum as bilateral trade relations strengthen and currency stability returns.

“This has the potential to trigger more FII inflows into India. However, a lot will depend on how the AI trade pans out,” said Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, highlighting the forward-looking factors that could shape foreign investor appetite.

The weekly inflow comprised net equity purchases of $897.15 million, while debt instruments saw net outflows of $0.13 million. In February through the 6th, FIIs were net equity buyers to the tune of ₹2,645 crore, marking a sharp turnaround from January’s heavy outflows.

“It is a positive direction and indication for the market sentiment, for the foreign portfolio investors are concerned while investing in India,” said Kranthi Bathini, Director-Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities. “The rising of bilateral trade relationship will help the market sentiment. In turn, that will help the portfolio managers to look back India.”

The week witnessed sharp volatility in daily flows. Monday, February 2, recorded the strongest single-day inflow of $587.21 million, driven by optimism around bilateral trade negotiations. However, Tuesday saw a reversal with net outflows of $54.23 million as markets digested the Union Budget’s proposal to increase Securities Transaction Tax on derivatives trading.

Wednesday, February 4, marked a strong comeback with FPIs pumping in $744.27 million, the week’s second-highest inflow, as US President Donald Trump announced an immediate reduction in reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.

“The week ending 6th February was eventful for stock markets. The Union Budget, the India-EU trade deal and the much awaited India-US trade deal happened in this week and these events had major impact on the market,” said Vijayakumar. “The market reacted negatively to the hike in STT on F&O trades but smartly recovered on news of the US-India trade deal.”

Thursday maintained positive momentum with inflows of $436.35 million, though Friday witnessed marginal net outflows of $3.40 million as profit-booking emerged at higher levels.

Bathini emphasized the competitive advantage India secured through the agreement. “Among all the trade deals US has done till date, India has got the better deal at 18 per cent,” he said. “The current trade deal will help the Indian exporters to get a better favorable rates.”

The rupee’s appreciation from a record low of 91.72 to 90.30 against the dollar during the week also played a crucial role in attracting foreign funds. “An important factor that changed the market sentiment was the appreciation in rupee from a record low of 91.72 to 90.30 to the dollar,” Vijayakumar observed. “INR is expected to stabilise and gradually appreciate to below 90 to the dollar by end March 2026.”

“Whatever be the last six months, the uncertainty that hovered around India and US trade is concerned. There is a lot of uncertainty, a lot of volatility, unpredictability. Now, that has gone,” Bathini said, explaining how the deal removes a key overhang on investor sentiment.

However, Sudeep Shah, Head-Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, cautioned that the reversal’s sustainability remains uncertain. “While FIIs have turned net buyers this week and the INR has posted its best weekly close in nearly three years, it is still premature to assume that the reversal will sustain,” Shah said. “A major portion of the FII inflow came from a single large buying session after the India–US trade deal announcement, rather than a steady flow trend.”

Himanshu Srivastava, Principal, Manager Research at Morningstar Investment Research India, noted the broader context. “Through the week, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net buyers in Indian equities, bringing a welcome reversal to the sustained selling trend witnessed through January,” Srivastava said. “Sentiment was supported by easing global uncertainties, stability in domestic interest rate expectations, and optimism around India–US trade and policy developments.”

“For markets to build a stronger uptrend, consistent FII cash buying and visible short covering will be crucial going forward,” Shah emphasized, noting that elevated FII index futures shorts have not seen expected unwinding despite positive triggers.

In the derivatives segment, FPIs remained active with substantial trading across index and stock options. On February 6, index options saw buying of $4,060.85 billion against selling of $4,103.56 billion, while stock futures recorded purchases worth $209.95 billion.

The Nifty 50 index swung within a massive 1,662-point range during the week, marking its widest weekly movement since June 2024, reflecting the heightened volatility amid evolving FPI sentiment and policy developments.

Published on February 8, 2026