- India’s decision to postpone implementing caps on market shares for Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions will benefit major players like Google Pay and Walmart-backed PhonePe.
- PhonePe currently leads with 48.3% of UPI transactions, while Google Pay holds 37.4%.
- The extension is seen as a move to prioritize the growth of digital payments over concerns about market dominance.
Google Pay and PhonePe are set to benefit from India’s decision to delay the implementation of caps on market shares for UPI transactions, allowing these major players to maintain their dominance in the digital payments sector.
India Delays Market Share Caps
India is set to postpone implementing caps on market shares for Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. This delay will benefit major players like Google Pay and Walmart-backed PhonePe by extending the market share cap deadline by up to two years beyond the year-end deadline. Initially, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the body overseeing UPI regulations, planned to limit any single company’s share to 30% to prevent market concentration.
Google Pay and PhonePe Dominate the Market
As of now, PhonePe leads with 48.3% of UPI transactions, up from 37% in April 2020, while Google Pay holds 37.4%, down from 44% during the same period. Together, these firms processed about 11.5 billion transactions in April alone, indicating their dominant position in the market. This extension is seen as a move to prioritize the growth of digital payments over concerns about market dominance.
Concerns Over Market Concentration
Launched in 2016, UPI has been a revolutionary step towards digital payments in India, and the service is free of charge to promote online transactions and minimize cash usage. The lack of fees has led other companies like Meta-owned WhatsApp and Amazon Pay to be less aggressive in promoting UPI payments, leading to concerns about market concentration among the few who do promote it.
Conclusion
The decision to extend the deadline for market share caps and other related policy decisions will likely be finalized closer to the current deadline at the end of 2024. Meanwhile, UPI continues to see substantial growth, with a 49.5% increase in transaction volume this April compared to last year, albeit a slight deceleration from March’s 54% growth.
