PhonePe and Google Pay: UPI has brought about a radical change in the payment system. A few years ago, sending money anywhere was a headache, but now you can send money anywhere and anytime in a few seconds. The success of UPI is such that it is easily accepted even in small shops in villages. However, UPI, which came into existence 7 years ago, is facing a threat, and despite knowing about it, no solution has been found yet. This threat is in the form of PhonePe and Google Pay. Let us know about this in detail.
PhonePe and Google Pay Have 85 Percent Market Share
PhonePe and Google Pay are two giant companies in the digital payment sector. They have about 85 percent market share. These two companies have created their duopoly in the digital payment sector. No other company can make its place in competition with them. Paytm stood strongly against them. But, after the ban imposed by RBI on Paytm Payments Bank, its position has become very weak. After this, there is a fear that the situation will become very serious if such a problem arises with PhonePe or Google Pay.
Both The Companies Occupying The UPI Network Are Under Foreign Control
UPI was launched in September 2017. UPI transactions were 0.4 billion, which increased to more than 15 billion in September 2024. Also, the transaction figure has crossed Rs 140 lakh crore. More than 30 crore people and 5 crore merchants are using it. Both the companies occupying such a huge UPI network are under foreign control. PhonePe’s market share is around 48.36 percent, Google Pay’s 37.3 percent and Paytm’s 7.2 percent. The condition of the government UPI app BHIM is very bad. Its market share is less than 1 percent.
Companies Are Not Taking Any Steps To Reduce Market Share
No one else is getting a chance due to two such big players. Amazon and WhatsApp also entered this sector, but they were very late. Because of this, they are nowhere in the race. For all these reasons, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the organization that manages UPI, started changing the system four years ago. NPCI also set a cap for a maximum market share of 30 percent.
A deadline of two years was set for this. After this, it was again extended for 2 years to 31 December 2024. Now it is being said that this deadline will also be extended. Even more surprising is that in these 4 years, no company has done anything to reduce its market share.
