Flipkart has acquired mobile payments company PhonePe for an undisclosed amount.
Bangalore based PhonePe is working on bringing a product which will let users transact only with their Aadhaar number, mobile number and a virtual address. The user will not have to disclose any bank details.
The startup was co-founded by Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari, former Flipkart employees. It currently has a team of over 15 and post-acquisition, the company will operate independently.
This is Flipkart’s third acquisition in the payments space.
Binny Bansal, CEO, Flipkart, said, “Payments has been one of the biggest hurdles for mass adoption of online shopping in India. UPI has the potential of transforming the entire payments ecosystem in the country. The acquisition of PhonePe is in-line with Flipkart’s focus on driving innovation on the payments front. I am delighted that two Flipkart veterans – Sameer and Rahul are at the helm of this initiative.”
