New Delhi, March 6 (NationPress) In anticipation of its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), PhonePe Ltd has unveiled significant insights in its revised draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), highlighting the extensive scale and advanced monetisation strategies of its merchant network.

Contrary to the notion of being a "free" platform, PhonePe's merchant framework has transformed into a multi-billion rupee revenue powerhouse, encompassing 47 million businesses and a multitude of physical payment devices.

The documentation submitted to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) indicates that PhonePe has achieved nearly complete penetration of the Indian market:

As of September 30, 2025, the count of registered merchants on PhonePe reached 47.19 million, covering an impressive 98.61 percent of all pin codes across India. By March 31, 2025, this merchant base represented between 77 percent and 80 percent of the total trade and services merchant population in the country.

In March 2025, the number of monthly active merchants was recorded at 11.31 million, constituting approximately 54 percent of all active UPI merchants nationwide.

Daily engagement from active merchants surged to 60.77 percent of monthly actives by September 2025, a significant rise from 44.18 percent in March 2023.

The substantial physical presence of PhonePe plays a crucial role in driving "sticky" subscription revenue. Currently, 9.19 million deployed devices function as more than mere payment instruments; the Smartspeaker additionally serves as a communication conduit, providing business updates and alerts to merchants. This extensive hardware network is supported by a dedicated field workforce of 25,657 team members and over 31,000 commissioned agents focused on expanding into rural areas.

One of the fastest-growing segments highlighted in the DRHP is Merchant Lending. By utilizing transaction data from its 47 million merchants, PhonePe extends credit insights to partner lenders, facilitating collateral-free loans, as detailed in its IPO documentation.

The volume of loan disbursements skyrocketed from Rs 0.11 billion in FY2023 to Rs 45.07 billion in FY2025. Lending revenue surged to Rs 2,880.87 million during the first half of FY2026, already nearing 88 percent of the previous full year’s total earnings.

The Merchant Payments division alone generated Rs 19,910.36 million in revenue for FY2025, contributing nearly 28 percent to PhonePe’s total operational revenue. With Merchant Total Payment Value (TPV) reaching Rs 15 trillion annually, the company has effectively transformed its extensive payment infrastructure into a high-value financial services platform.