PhonePe Looking Forward To Enter Stockbroking Business; Awaiting License From SEBI: Report

Digital payments giant PhonePe is looking to venture into the super-competitive stockbroking business as it looks to encourage its customers to invest the unutilized funds from their wallets to the markets.

The Bengaluru-based company is waiting to get a license from the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) for the same as it proceeds ahead to “become a full-fledged diversified financial services player”, Money Control reports.

The fintech startup is also set to expand its services on the insurance, investments, and merchant front in the coming years though it does not immediately plan to enter the lending market.

As per the recent estimates, PhonePe has grabbed 44 per cent of the United Payments Interface (UPI) market as it facilitated 1.19 billion UPI transactions in March 2021.

However, the UPI has asked PhonePe to adopt moderation of its volumes on UPI as the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) new third-party application rules mandate the concerned players to not hold more than 30 per cent of the market share each.

PhonePe had already gotten into the mutual funds space in 2019 and its forthcoming move to foray into the stockbroking space seems like a logical progression according to its expansion plans.