Post the Flipkart-Walmart deal, Flipkart’s digital wallet PhonePe has got a direct entry into the U.S market to fight against another set of biggies.
In a conference call made by Walmart on Monday, the retail giant said that it wants to use Flipkart’s payment capabilities in the US market soon.
After months of media speculation, Walmart on Wednesday announced to acquire 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for a whopping $16 billion.
It appears the Arkansas-based retail giant was not only influenced by Flipkart’s e-commerce business but innovations as well.
Judith McKenna, Walmart’s COO, praised about the e-commerce platform’s innovations and said that the Indian e-commerce major has done major innovation in the AI space. He particularly mentioned the use case of the payment platform PhonePe and its importance in around the international markets and potentially into the U.S.
In the U.S, mobile payments apps such as PayPal, Apple and Samsung, including those from retailers like Walmart and Target are competing to take a larger pie in the market. Besides, China’s Alipay is also slowly growing in the U.S market.
However, it will be difficult for Walmart to introduce PhonePe as it is in the U.S market, which is fast evolving and adopting newer technologies such as voice-based payments.
But, the retail company can widen the use of PhonePe in the Indian market. The payment form has been introducing technologies to adapt itself as per the resources available in the region.
In November last year, PhonePe launched a Point Of Sale (PoS) device powered by Bluetooth technology which can be used for payments without internet connectivity at Kirana stores, petrol pumps, food chains, and among others.
PhonePe, which is far behind India’s biggest mobile payment platform Paytm, has been gradually getting closer to its rival in the UPI-based payment.
Besides, the payment firm also received Rs 518 crore infusion from the parent company based out of Singapore in March this year.
The development was first reported by BusinessLine.
