Now apply for IPOs via PhonePe

Users of Flipkart-owned digital payments platform PhonePe can now subscribe to initial public offerings (IPOs) by using their unified payments interface (UPI) identification credentials.

The newly added feature makes PhonePe the first non-banking app to process IPO subscriptions through the UPI platform, said an official statement issued by PhonePe.

PhonePe users can begin the process by filling in their UPI IDs in the IPO subscription forms. The subscription amount would then be blocked by the app after a notification seeking permission to process the transaction is approved.

When the shares have been successfully allotted to the user, the blocked amount is debited from the PhonePe user's UPI-linked bank account.

The IPO application process would be completed in three days, the statement said.

"PhonePe and NPCI are collaborating to drive retail participation of millions of users of PhonePe in capital markets through this initiative. Users on PhonePe will now be able to use their UPI ID created on PhonePe to apply for an IPO thereby making the complete application process simpler and faster," said Hemant Gala, head of payments and financial services, PhonePe.

UPI is an inter-bank payments platform operated by government-run National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

In July, NPCI had allowed retail investors to use its UPI platform to initiate IPO applications.

In August, PhonePe reported that the total payment volume (TPV) on its platform increased over five times since June 2018. PhonePe had attributed the gains to the expansion of its merchant network.

A month earlier, it was reported that PhonePe received a fund infusion of about $101 million from its parent entity Flipkart.

Earlier this year, retail giant Walmart, which owns a majority stake in Flipkart, had said it is considering plans to deploy PhonePe's capabilities in markets such as the US and Mexico.