PhonePe For Business: Features, Fees, And How It Works

With over 700 million registered users and 50 million registered merchants in its network, PhonePe is one of India’s largest UPI apps, operated by PhonePe Limited, a Walmart-backed company. PhonePe Business is the merchant-facing side of the platform that lets businesses accept digital payments from PhonePe’s user base.

Key takeaways

• Operated by PhonePe Limited, PhonePe for Business allows merchants to accept UPI, card, and digital wallet payments.
• Businesses can accept payments through multiple methods, including UPI via QR codes and payment links, credit and debit cards, digital wallets, and UPI AutoPay for recurring payments, all of which are reconciled through a single merchant dashboard.
• Standard UPI payments have operated on a zero-Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) model for merchants since 2020. However, from 15 October 2026, a 0.4% MDR will apply to UPI transactions above 2,000 INR.
• PhonePe reports a user base of roughly 700 million registered users and around 50 million merchants, making it one of the largest digital payments platforms in India.
• Businesses outside India can’t sign up directly with PhonePe and typically need to work with a global payments provider that supports UPI-based payments alongside other local and international payment options.

What is PhonePe Business app?

PhonePe’s payment platform is divided into two verticals. The consumer app lets shoppers pay for purchases, while merchants use the PhonePe Business app to accept, manage, and track transactions. Both apps are operated by PhonePe Limited, formerly PhonePe Private Limited, a Walmart-backed Indian fintech company and an RBI-authorised Payment Aggregator. 

PhonePe was founded in December 2015 by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari, and Burzin Engineer, with its app launching in August 2016. According to PhonePe, it was the first payment app built on India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

PhonePe reported over 700 million registered users, over 50 million registered merchants, and around 400 million transactions processed daily in 2026.

How does PhonePe for business work?

Step 1: The merchant onboards with the PhonePe payment solution or with a provider that supports PhonePe or UPI acceptance by completing KYC and linking a bank account.

Step 2: The merchant can start accepting digital payments through the methods that best fit their business, such as QR codes in offline and online stores or payment links shared directly with a customer.

Step 3: When a customer pays, the transaction is recorded in the merchant dashboard, and the funds are settled directly into the merchant’s linked bank account. Merchants can use the dashboard or webhook notifications to track transactions and match them to orders.

Payment methods PhonePe supports

The Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) is a combination of fees paid to the payment gateway, issuing bank, and card network.

PhonePe merchant tools & features

Beyond payment acceptance, PhonePe Business provides merchants with a set of operational tools to manage day-to-day operations.

Its central dashboard provides an overview of payment activity and business performance, while the dedicated transaction history section supports payment tracking in real time.

Merchants can also enable instant audio payment confirmations. These spoken alerts announce successful payments in multiple regional languages, reducing the need to manually check the app for every sale and, in turn, reducing disputes over whether a payment was completed.

The PhonePe app also includes tools for running targeted marketing campaigns to the merchant’s existing customer base, along with 24/7 merchant support for transaction-related issues and a user-friendly chat bot for faster assistance with routine questions.

Merchant hardware

PhonePe’s domestic merchant suite includes physical hardware designed for in-person payments. A payment QR sticker is the simplest option. It is a printed, static QR code that merchants can place in their stores so customers can scan it to make payments.

The Smart Speaker provides audio payment alerts, so shopkeepers can hear when a payment is received without having to check the screen after every transaction.

The PhonePe pos device gives merchants a single device to support multiple payment modes at the physical checkout, including card and QR-based UPI payments.

PhonePe for business fees & charges

Bank account & settlements

To receive payments, merchants link a bank account to their PhonePe Business account during onboarding by providing their bank account details. Payments are settled within one business day into the linked bank account rather than held as a separate wallet balance.

Businesses that need faster access to their funds can leverage PhonePe’s on-demand settlement option, which allows merchants to initiate a direct settlement outside the standard cycle.

Merchant loans on PhonePe

PhonePe offers business loans to Indian merchants through its RBI-registered NBFC partners, including Innofin Solutions Pvt Ltd, Aditya Birla Finance Ltd., Piramal Finance Ltd., and Muthoot Fincorp Ltd. Loans range from 50,000 INR to 7,00,000 INR, with repayment terms ranging from 6 to 24 months and a maximum flat interest rate of 39% per year (processing fees and other terms can vary based on lender policies).

Depending on the lender, merchants may be eligible for instant business loans with easy daily instalments. Before accepting a loan offer, merchants should compare the principal loan amount, interest charged, applicable fees, total cost, and overall loan value.

Eligibility is based largely on payment activity rather than a traditional credit application. In general, merchants need to process more than INR 25,000 INR per month through PhonePe QR and have at least six months of active merchant history.

For loans up to 7 lakh INR, PhonePe doesn’t require business or bank account details other than date of birth, PAN, and Aadhaar number.

PhonePe Business vs Google Pay for business

Security, KYC & compliance

PhonePe Limited operates as an RBI-authorised Payment Aggregator, having received final authorisation in September 2025 under the Reserve Bank of India’s payment aggregator framework. The framework was introduced to provide greater oversight of digital payment intermediaries and to strengthen consumer protection.

For merchants, onboarding involves standard KYC and verification requirements, including identity details such as a phone number and Aadhaar, as well as linking a bank account for settlements. PhonePe also states that its platform uses industry-standard encryption and other security measures to protect financial data.

How can global businesses accept PhonePe?

Businesses based outside India generally can’t sign up for PhonePe directly. Instead, international merchants serving Indian customers can partner with a financial infrastructure provider to access PhonePe and other UPI-based payment methods through a broader alternative payment method (APM) stack.

Unlimit lets businesses offer PhonePe and other UPI payment options alongside over 1,000 alternative payment methods in more than 200 markets, without having to build and manage separate integrations.

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