Dekho, PhonePe India ke digital payment market mein toh sabse bada khiladi hai, karib 46-48% UPI market share ke saath. Lekin company ke numbers bata rahe hain ki asli paisa toh abhi bhi payment transactions se hi aa raha hai. Jo bhi naye business try kiye hain, unmein na toh zyada traction mila hai aur na hi regulatory changes se bach paaye hain.
Regulatory Headwinds
Sabse badi dikkat toh ye hai ki PhonePe ko ab tak NBFC license nahi mila hai, kahit baar apply karne ke baad bhi. Isliye, wo bas customers ko partner banks ke liye refer kar paate hain, aur apna profit share bahut kam milta hai. Matlab, lending mein bhi pura control nahi hai.
Aur bhai, government ke rules toh aate hi rehte hain. Jo rent payment service thi, usse ₹1,262 crore ki revenue aati thi FY25 mein, par RBI ke naye rules ke baad September 2025 mein band karni padi. Same, Real Money Gaming (RMG) se bhi nearly ₹245 crore FY25 mein aate the, woh bhi Online Gaming Act ke baad zero ho gaye. Matlab, ye dono band hone se lagbhag ₹1,500 crore ka gap aa gaya revenue mein.
Portfolio of Stalled Ambitions
Bas regulatory hi nahi, andar ke projects bhi utna kamaal nahi kar paaye. Jo Pincode app tha, jo ONDC network par based tha, consumer usse zyada use nahi kar rahe the, toh ab usko merchants ke liye use kar rahe hain.
Aur jo stockbroking platform 'Share.Market' launch kiya tha, usmein late 2025 tak bas 1.2 million se thode zyada demat accounts bane, jo overall user base ka 0.2% se bhi kam hai.
Account Aggregator license bhi early 2025 mein surrender kar diya. Aur jo naye segments hain jaise wealth products, Indus Appstore, unka revenue toh total ka 1% se bhi kam hai, chahe kitne bhi acquisitions kar liye hon.
Overall, FY25 mein total revenue ₹7,115 crore tha, jismein se lagbhag 85% sirf payment services se aaya. Insurance aur lending se 8% aur baaki sabse sirf 0.8%.
The IPO Outlook
Ab baat karte hain IPO ki. PhonePe ka target hai $15 billion ka valuation, aur poora $1.5 billion ka issue size OFS (Offer for Sale) hi hoga. Matlab, ye existing shareholders jaise Walmart, Tiger Global ko liquidity dene ke liye hai, na ki business expand karne ke liye fresh capital uthane.
Haan, company ne apna net loss kam karke ₹1,727 crore (FY25) kar liya hai aur operational cash flow positive hai ₹1,202 crore. Par asli sawaal ye hai ki kya ye company sirf payment se alawa bhi kama payegi? Indian fintech market bhi ab profit par focus kar raha hai, aur investors bhi carefully choose kar rahe hain. PhonePe ka ye IPO ek test hoga ki kya market aise fintech giants ko accept karega jo apne user base ko ek diversified business mein convert kar sakte hain.