Walmart's PhonePe achieves $1.3 trillion total payment volume, considers IPO

Retail giant Walmart's digital payments subsidiary, PhonePe, has marked a milestone by reaching a Total Payment Volume (TPV) of $1.3 trillion, placing it on par with major fintech players in the US market. John David Rainey, the Chief Financial Officer of Walmart, made this announcement at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference. He highlighted that PhonePe's TPV is comparable to some of the largest fintech firms in the US, some with market caps exceeding $100 billion.

PhonePe, a leading fintech platform in India, has been gearing up for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) expected in 2024-2025. In March of this year, the platform secured an additional $200 million in primary capital from Walmart at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.

Rainey stated that both PhonePe and Walmart's e-commerce giant, Flipkart, are contemplating a potential IPO in the future. He expressed confidence in their ability to execute well, suggesting that improvements in profitability may accompany their journey toward going public.

Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy had previously mentioned that the company is considering multiple geographies, including India, for its public issue, estimated to be in the range of $60-70 billion.

PhonePe, with a focus on diversification, recorded a revenue of Rs 2,914 crore in the financial year ending March 31, 2023, reflecting a remarkable 77 per cent increase from Rs 1,646 crore in FY22. The surge in revenue was attributed to growth in money transfers, mobile recharges, and bill payments. The platform has been expanding its product offerings and recently entered the merchant lending space. Additionally, it launched the Indus Appstore Developer Platform for Android app developers, positioning itself to compete with industry giants Apple and Google.