India’s PhonePe unveils UPI payment in partnership with LankaPay

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha (left) with PhonePe International Payments CEO Ritesh Pai

Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe and LankaPay CEO Channa De Silva

Pix by Shehan Gunasekara

LankaPay – Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network on Wednesday announced its partnership with PhonePe – one of India’s most popular fintech apps – towards accepting UPI payments at LankaQR merchant points.

The launch was graced by Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha who highlighted the key role played by fintech connectivity in the overall connectivity between India and Sri Lanka. Addressing the gathering, Guest of Honour Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, acknowledged the collaboration’s capacity to unlock new opportunities and enhance competitiveness and the benefits that it would bring to Sri Lankan merchants.

PhonePe International Payments CEO Ritesh Pai said: “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with LankaPay. This collaboration offers unparalleled convenience to Indian tourists who can now use a familiar and secure payment method while traveling and pay across LankaQR merchant points. PhonePe has always been at the forefront of driving innovation in payments. We are incredibly proud to be driving UPI adaptation across India, and our expansion to Sri Lanka is another exciting step forward.”

LankaPay CEO Channa de Silva CEO said: “LankaPay is delighted to collaborate with PhonePe to revolutionise the cross-border payments between Sri Lanka and India. This partnership is bound to provide greater convenience to Indian tourists and business travelers in making seamless UPI payments at all LankaQR merchant points in Sri Lanka via PhonePe app. We are excited about the potential of this collaboration that would enhance payment experience to Indian tourists and business travellers during their stay in Sri Lanka and also provide the merchants with a cost-effective proposition to card payments. I envisage that innovation to be the cornerstone of this alliance and would lead to further strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.”

At the launch, de Silva also made an insightful presentation, giving a snapshot of Sri Lanka’s digital payment landscape followed by an insightful panel discussion on ‘The Future of Digital Payments in Sri Lanka: Opportunities for Sri Lankan Businesses,’ which focused on the possibilities and growth avenues for local businesses.

The session featured National Savings Bank GM/CEO Shashi Kandambi, Hatton National Bank PLC COO Sanjay Wijemanne, LOLC Finance PLC Chairman Conrad Dias, and Dialog Finance PLC Chairperson Renuka Fernando, who discussed how businesses can leverage digital payment technologies and tap into a wider market to stay competitive in an evolving economic landscape. The session was moderated by LankaPay CEO de Silva.

Following the panel discussion, PhonePe International Payments CEO Ritesh Pai unveiled insights on leveraging UPI for global markets and the growth prospects it offers for merchants.

The event also saw the presence of several key stakeholders from the Sri Lankan financial landscape, including senior representatives from banking sectors, payment system providers, and representatives from tourism sector and business associations. This alliance is facilitated through LankaPay’s partnership with NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL).

During the event, PhonePe announced that its app users travelling to Sri Lanka can now make payments using UPI across LankaPayQR merchants nationwide. Users can simply scan LankaQR code to make secure and quick payments without carrying cash or calculating currency conversions. Their account will be debited in INR, showing the currency exchange rate. These transactions are facilitated by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and LankaPay National Payment Network.

PhonePe Group is India’s leading fintech company. Its flagship product, the PhonePe digital payments app, was launched in Aug 2016. In just seven years, the company has scaled rapidly to become India’s leading consumer payments app with over 520 million registered users and a digital payments acceptance network of 38 million merchants. PhonePe also processes 230+ million daily transactions with an annualised Total Payment Value (TPV) of $ 1.5+ trillion.

On the back of its leadership in digital payments, PhonePe Group has expanded into financial services (Insurance, Lending, Wealth) as well as new consumer tech businesses (Pincode – hyperlocal e-commerce and Indus App Store – India’s first localised App Store). PhonePe Group is an India headquartered technology company with a portfolio of businesses aligned with the company’s vision to offer every Indian an equal opportunity to accelerate their progress by unlocking the flow of money and access to services.