Fintech apps in India, including Paytm, PhonePe, and some national banks, are expanding their services and ambitions to become super apps that offer everything, everywhere, all at once. Paytm is currently considered the OG fintech super app in India, with massive scale and diversity of services, but it has yet to prove profitability. Other fintech unicorns and banks are following Paytm’s lead, and PhonePe, owned by Walmart, is seen as a prime contender to replicate Paytm’s super app playbook and add profits to sweeten the mix.
The question remains whether PhonePe can successfully follow Paytm’s playbook and generate profits. While Paytm’s super app model has been successful in attracting users and diversifying services, it has not yet translated into profitability. It remains to be seen whether PhonePe can strike the right balance between scale, diversity of services, and profitability, and become a successful fintech super app in India. The fintech sector in India is expected to have a total addressable market of $2.1 trillion by 2030, with a CAGR of 18% from 2022. The sector has seen significant investment, with over $24 billion invested since 2014, and is home to 22 unicorns and 33 soonicorns.
Paytm and Policybazaar have already gone public, and PhonePe aims to follow suit with its own listing in 2024. However, before that, PhonePe needs to align its various individual financial products within its app. PhonePe is well-funded, having raised $650 million since the start of 2023, and is expected to add another $350 million in the coming months. The challenge for the fintech decacorn is to streamline its services and become a profitable fintech super app, much like Paytm. If it can strike the right balance between scale, diversity of services, and profitability, it has the potential to become a successful player in the Indian fintech market.