Flipkart Group launches UPI app super.money, takes on erstwhile group firm PhonePe

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Ecommerce giant Flipkart has launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app super.money to further the group's fintech ambitions. The Walmart-backed company has its own UPI handle within the shopping app and the launch of a separate app indicates the group’s aggressive intent in the fintech space.

Interestingly, its erstwhile group company PhonePe, also majority-owned by Walmart, was separated from Flipkart only a year ago and is a market leader with around 50 percent market share in the UPI ecosystem.

super.money is looking at a staggered launch with an initial launch restricted to one lakh users, apparently a beta programme. The company’s logo prominently shows a QR code, the popular method of payment using UPI. According to Flipkart,  the super.money team will continue to assess customer feedback in the coming weeks and improve the product further.

The app offers up to 5 percent cashback on food, travel and other merchant payments using the app. Super.Money’s promotions are also taking potshots at rivals offering coupons, scratch cards or coins for making UPI payments.

“The landscape of digital payments and financial services is evolving rapidly, presenting incredible opportunities for innovation. super.money aims to democratise access to financial services by leveraging UPI infrastructure, which aligns with the government's larger vision of financial inclusion," said Prakash Sikaria, Founder and CEO of super.money in an email statement adding that the company is working on several products that will be launched soon.

Flipkart’s own UPI handle was launched in March and had a good start in March with over five million transactions.

During the initial days of UPI, most of the UPI players were offering cashback to gain market share, which has now come down as customers have narrowed down their preferences to just three apps – PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm – which together corner more than 95 percent market share in the UPI ecosystem.

super.money’s launch is coming at a time when there are concerns that UPI becoming an entrenched duopoly. The smaller UPI players have been requesting the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs UPI, to give them preferential treatment to take on the top three players.

The third largest player Paytm has seen its market share drop from around 13 percent last year to around 8 percent in May because of regulatory action against its associate company, Paytm Payments Bank.

PhonePe was incubated in Flipkart and hived off in 2020. Flipkart always wanted a payment platform of its own but did not launch any separate product because of PhonePe. But with the latter being hived off, it has reentered the space.

Interestingly, Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal’s fintech app Navi is also offering rewards and cashback for using UPI and has registered a 10x growth in two months. Bansal was instrumental in Flipkart acquiring PhonePe.