PhonePe has launched UPI 123Pay, allowing feature phone users across India to make UPI payments without an internet connection. The service targets India’s 200 million feature phone users and supports key services including person-to-person transfers, merchant payments, balance checks and transaction history. UPI 123Pay will come pre-installed on select feature phones from Nokia, HMD, Lava and Itel. The service uses an SMS-based system and is designed to work in areas with limited 2G connectivity. Users can make payments using mobile numbers and UPI IDs, while supported devices will also allow QR code payments. PhonePe has also introduced an AI-powered voice helpline that supports English and 12 Indian languages, helping users activate and use the service. The company plans to add features such as bill payments, mobile recharges and Aadhaar-based onboarding in future updates. The launch comes as PhonePe continues to dominate India’s UPI ecosystem. The Walmart-backed digital payments platformprocessednearly 11 billion UPI transactions in July, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). PhonePe accounted for 45.89% of the total UPI transaction volume in July. In value terms, it processed transactions worth Rs 14.44 lakh crore, giving it a 48.33% share of the total UPI transaction value. Bareback Media has recently raised funding from a group of investors. Some of the investors may directly or indirectly be involved in a competing business or might be associated with other companies we might write about. This shall, however, not influence our reporting or coverage in any manner whatsoever. You may find a list of our investorshere.
