SUMMARY
- ICICI Bank and PhonePe have partnered to offer a short-term credit line on UPI.
- Pre-approved PhonePe users can access up to Rs 2 lakh with a 45-day repayment period.
- This is PhonePe’s first partnership with a bank for the credit line service, launched just ahead of the festive season.
ICICI Bank and PhonePe have partnered to offer a credit line on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for PhonePe customers, enabling pre-approved users to access short-term credit of up to Rs 2 lakh with a repayment period of 45 days. This new service is set to revolutionize the use of digital credit in India, particularly as the festive season approaches.
With this partnership, PhonePe becomes the first UPI platform to collaborate with ICICI Bank for providing a credit line, a move that enhances the convenience of digital payments for millions of customers. Deep Agrawal, head of payments at PhonePe, emphasized the company’s commitment to expanding access to credit through innovative offerings like this one.
ICICI Bank’s pre-approved customers can activate the credit line instantly through the PhonePe app, allowing them to make payments for their festive shopping without hassle. Niraj Tralshawala, product head for payment solutions at ICICI Bank, noted that this partnership would significantly enhance the personal banking experience for their customers during the high-demand festive season.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched the ‘credit line on UPI’ service last year, targeting low-ticket, high-volume retail loans. With PhonePe holding a dominant 49% share of UPI transactions, and Google Pay close behind at 38%, this credit line is expected to have a substantial impact on the country’s digital payments landscape. Other banks such as Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, and PNB have also gone live with similar offerings, and PhonePe’s competitors, including Google Pay, Paytm, and BHIM, are already leveraging the UPI credit line product.
