In a bold step towards democratizing digital payments in India, fintech giant PhonePe has acquired the proprietary GSPay technology stack from conversational engagement platform Gupshup, aiming to bridge a longstanding digital divide.
Built atop NPCI’s UPI 123PAY—a framework for enabling UPI on feature phones—GSPay is designed for India’s sizeable non-smartphone user base. With this acquisition, PhonePe plans to develop and roll out its own UPI-based mobile payment app for feature phones in the coming quarters, offering essential services like peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, offline QR payments, and the ability to receive money via mobile numbers or self-generated QRs.
“Our goal is simple—bring crores of Indians still using feature phones into the heart of India’s digital payments revolution,” said Sameer Nigam, Co-founder and CEO of PhonePe. “This segment has been historically underserved. With GSPay’s IP and our scale, we aim to change that.”
And the scale is significant. As of 2024, India still had an estimated 24 crore feature phone users, and another 15 crore shipments are projected over the next five years. While the smartphone-first narrative dominates digital India, these numbers speak volumes about an often-overlooked demographic.
PhonePe’s move not only signals its intent to deepen financial inclusion but also its belief in UPI as the backbone of India’s digital economy, regardless of device sophistication. The new app will aim to create true interoperability—allowing seamless transactions between smartphone and feature phone users alike.
This feature phone push adds another dimension to PhonePe’s already expansive fintech ecosystem, which spans insurance, lending, wealth management, as well as its newer ventures like Pincode (an e-commerce platform) and Indus AppStore.
With over 60 crore registered users, 4 crore merchants, and a staggering Rs 150 lakh crore in annualized TPV, PhonePe’s move into the feature phone segment could spark the next big wave of digital adoption—one that’s inclusive, offline-friendly, and designed for Bharat.
