PhonePe Steps Away from Account Aggregator Business, Focuses on Partnerships
- ByStartupStory | February 9, 2025
In a strategic shift, India’s leading digital payments firm, PhonePe, has decided to withdraw from the Account Aggregator (AA) business, choosing instead to work alongside established players rather than operate its service. The Walmart-backed company has begun the process of relinquishing its NBFC-AA license to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and will soon wind down its AA operations.
PhonePe ventured into the AA space in June 2023, aiming to simplify financial data sharing for users. The platform allowed individuals to securely share bank statements, tax filings, and insurance records with regulated financial institutions to access services like loans and investment advice. However, despite attracting an impressive 50 million users, the company struggled to integrate sufficient Financial Information Providers (FIPs), limiting the platform’s effectiveness.
The company saw an opportunity to boost financial inclusion by launching its AA platform when adoption was still in its infancy. However, competing business priorities made sustaining growth in this space difficult.
“We successfully onboarded nearly five crore users in under two years, but challenges in integrating enough financial information providers (FIPs) meant we could not meet our original expectations,” PhonePe said in a statement.
PhonePe’s exit comes as the AA ecosystem gains momentum. Industry data from Sahamati, an industry alliance for AA services, shows that 119 million accounts were linked to the FIP system by December 2024, a sharp rise from 38.96 million a year earlier. Additionally, 143 million consent requests were processed in December 2024, reflecting increased user adoption.
Although stepping away from the AA business, PhonePe remains committed to financial inclusion and plans to collaborate with other AAs to ensure its users continue benefiting from these services. The company is also working on a smooth transition for its existing AA customers by regulatory guidelines. PhonePe’s decision highlights that even market leaders must evaluate their priorities and shift gears when necessary, ensuring their resources are directed toward the most impactful initiatives.
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