New Delhi, May 1, (CXO Media ): Global fintech and tech firms are escalating concerns over UPI market concentration.
Companies including Amazon (Amazon Pay), Meta (via WhatsApp Pay), CRED, MobiKwik, and Flipkart’s Super.money are set to approach the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to address the growing dominance of PhonePe and Google Pay in India’s UPI ecosystem.
UPI Market Share Concerns
NPCI data shows PhonePe and Google Pay together processed nearly 80% of the 22.6 billion UPI transactions in March. PhonePe alone has scaled to over 700 million users and 50 million merchants, with acceptance across most of India’s postal network. Smaller players argue this scale creates high entry barriers and limits fair competition.
Regulatory Focus Areas
Discussions with NPCI are expected to centre on user acquisition practices, product-level access, and monetisation within UPI. Competing firms are seeking tighter norms on how dominant apps onboard users and use contact data. They are also pushing for equal access to key features such as autopay and payment mandates.
Policy Delay Impact
The push comes after NPCI extended the deadline to cap any single UPI app’s market share at 30% to December 31, 2026. The delay has allowed leading apps to consolidate further, raising fresh concerns around market concentration in India’s rapidly expanding digital payments space.
