PhonePe Launches UPI Circle — Here's How It Changes the Way You Pay!

PhonePe, India's top digital payment company, has launched a new feature named UPI Circle, a pioneering innovation that will make UPI payments within known groups safer and more convenient.

"UPI Circle allows dependents to create their own UPI ID without requiring a linked bank account, opening up secure online payment solutions for those with limited access to digital financial services" the blog added.

What is UPI Circle?

The UPI Circle feature enables the creation of small, trusted groups of people like family, friends, roommates, or colleagues—with whom one regularly shares money. 

Payments within the group can be done quicker and safer without having to authenticate every time. This minimizes the risk of sending money to the incorrect contact and provides a more personal UPI experience.

PhonePe: Recent Launch

PhonePe rolled out the feature globally on April 15, 2025, and made it accessible to users on both Android and iOS. 

“UPI Circle is a significant step forward in extending the ease and convenience of digital payments for those who are underbanked and those new to the ecosystem. This can be a parent providing expenses to their college kids, authorizing payments on behalf of older parents who may be wary of digital payments, or busy individuals who want to delegate household chores. We're confident that this will further accelerate the adoption of UPI across India", Sonika Chandra, Chief Business Officer, of Consumer Payments, PhonePe stated.

UPI Circle: How Do I Use It?

Open the PhonePe app and navigate to the UPI section available on the home page of the app.

Step 1: Click on ‘Create UPI Circle’.

Step 2: Add members from your contact list who are PhonePe users.

Step 3: After adding, you can send or ask for money in one click within the circle.

All transactions will continue to be seen in a separate UPI Circle tab.

Also Read: UPI Down: Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay Not Working, Users Report Widespread Outage

UPI Circle: Why Does It Matter

According to NPCI data, India recorded more than 13 billion UPI transactions in March 2025. UPI features such as UPI Circle can make digital payments more efficient and introduce a more community-oriented way of transferring money, making users more alert and secure.
 

PhonePe Group

An India-based fintech company, PhonePe offers several digital payment products.  It has a network of over 40 million merchants and over 600 million registered users as of March 2025.  The business processes over 330 million transactions each day.