Table of Contents
PhonePe, India’s largest digital payments platform, has received In-Principle Approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for two payment licences, Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS) and Stored Value Facilities (SVF), the company announced on 22 September 2026. It’s PhonePe’s first international regulatory approval, and a step toward its first market outside India.
Key Takeaways
PhonePe, India’s largest UPI platform with a 45% market share, has received In-Principle Approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for two payment licences, Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS) and Stored Value Facilities (SVF), its first international regulatory approval.
The company plans to integrate with Aani, the UAE’s instant payment platform, and Jaywan, its domestic card scheme, working with regional banks and licensed payment service providers rather than launching independently.
PhonePe already enables Indian travellers to pay at NEOPAY and Network International terminals in the UAE through NPCI International Payments Limited; this approval moves it toward a locally regulated platform rather than a visitor-only service.
Ritesh Pai, chief executive and executive director of international payments at PhonePe, said:
“The country’s vision and regulatory environment make it an ideal setting for our international journey. By combining technology with local partnerships, PhonePe intends to support the strong economic and trade corridors connecting the UAE, India, and global markets.”
From UPI dominance to a UAE-regulated platform
PhonePe processes close to 12 billion transactions a month worth roughly ₹14 lakh crore, across more than 700 million registered users and 50 million merchants in India, a 45% share of the country’s UPI payments market. The company is majority-owned by Walmart, which holds a 71.77% stake through WM Digital Commerce Holdings; PhonePe shelved a planned IPO targeting a $15 billion valuation in March 2026 as global market conditions shifted.
In the UAE specifically, PhonePe already lets Indian travellers pay by scanning local QR codes at NEOPAY and Network International terminals, through a partnership with NPCI International Payments Limited. This approval is a different, larger step: building a locally regulated payments platform in partnership with UAE banks, licensed payment service providers and technology companies, rather than a cross-border acceptance arrangement layered on top of India’s own rails.
What it’s actually building toward
PhonePe said it aims to integrate with Aani, the UAE’s instant payment platform, and Jaywan, the UAE’s domestic card scheme, positioning its full-stack technology platform to support both rather than compete with them. The approval is in-principle only; PhonePe still needs final regulatory sign-off from the CBUAE before starting commercial operations.
Why it matters
For the UAE’s large Indian community
The UAE’s Indian population and heavy volume of Indian visitors and residents are the explicit rationale PhonePe gave for choosing this market first. A locally regulated PhonePe platform, rather than the current visitor-only QR acceptance, would let it serve that community with the same product it operates at scale in India, tied into local rails instead of routed through NIPL.
For the UAE’s push to interconnect its payment rails
PhonePe positioning itself around Aani and Jaywan rather than building parallel infrastructure fits a pattern this venture has tracked repeatedly this year, international players choosing to plug into the UAE’s own instant-payment and card-scheme infrastructure rather than bypass it. A platform with PhonePe’s transaction volume adopting that approach is a meaningful vote of confidence in Aani and Jaywan specifically.
What’s next
Given the company just shelved its own IPO months ago, whether this UAE expansion is funded from existing reserves or ties into a future public-listing story is worth watching, though PhonePe gave no indication either way.
FAQ
hat licences has PhonePe received approval for?
In-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS) and Stored Value Facilities (SVF) licences.
Is this PhonePe’s final approval to operate in the UAE?
No. It’s in-principle approval; PhonePe still needs final CBUAE sign-off before commercial operations begin.
How big is PhonePe in India?
It holds a 45% share of India’s UPI payments market, with more than 700 million registered users, 50 million merchants, and close to 12 billion transactions processed monthly.
Does PhonePe already operate in the UAE in any form?
Yes, in a limited way. Indian travellers can pay at NEOPAY and Network International terminals via NPCI International Payments Limited, but this approval is toward a locally regulated platform, not just visitor acceptance.
Who owns PhonePe?
Walmart holds a 71.77% majority stake through WM Digital Commerce Holdings.
Editor’s Take: PhonePe is choosing to build on Aani and Jaywan, the UAE’s own instant-payment and card infrastructure, rather than a parallel system routed back through India. For a company processing India’s largest share of UPI volume, that’s a deliberate signal, plug into the local rails a regulator has already built, rather than ask the UAE to accommodate a foreign payment stack.
PhonePe shelved a $15 billion IPO in March amid global market turbulence; a first international regulatory approval five to six months later reads as the company finding a growth story to tell that doesn’t depend on India alone, even before any UAE revenue materialises.