The services were announced at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 on September 9. PhonePe said the features will be rolled out in phases.
Tap to pay with Visa cards
PhonePe users with eligible Visa cards will be able to tokenise their cards on the app and use an Android phone to make contactless payments at compatible POS terminals.
The feature is scheduled to start rolling out from September 9. PhonePe said payments can be made even in low-connectivity environments, subject to the requirements of the underlying payment system and device.
The service builds on Visa card tokenization already available on PhonePe. Tokenization replaces the actual card details with a digital token, reducing the need to share or store the physical card number during transactions.
QR payments while travelling abroad
PhonePe is also introducing cross-border QR payments using Visa-supported QR codes. The feature will allow Indian users to scan eligible QR codes while travelling in 14 international markets.
The markets listed by the company include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Japan, China and South Korea, among others.
PhonePe said the feature will be rolled out to users soon. The service is aimed at allowing users to make payments from their linked Visa cards through the app instead of carrying and using a physical card for such transactions.
Users should, however, check whether a particular merchant QR code is supported before relying on the facility while travelling.
Small merchants can accept card payments through smartphones
PhonePe has also introduced Smart Accept, which is aimed at small merchants that do not have a separate card POS terminal.
Under the feature, a compatible smartphone can be used to accept contactless card payments. Customers can tap a physical contactless card or a tokenized mobile wallet against the merchant’s device.
The company said merchants will not need to purchase separate POS hardware for these transactions. Smart Accept will also be integrated with PhonePe’s existing merchant QR dashboard, allowing merchants to manage card and QR payments from the same interface.
What changes for PhonePe users
The latest additions expand the ways in which Visa cardholders can use their cards through PhonePe. A user who has tokenized an eligible Visa card on the app can potentially use the same digital card credentials for online payments, contactless transactions at supported terminals and eligible QR payments overseas.
The availability of each feature will depend on factors such as the user’s card, device, merchant acceptance and the country or payment network involved.
PhonePe said it had more than 71.5 crore registered users as of July 2026 and an acceptance network covering over 5 crore merchants.
First Published: Sept 9, 2026 11:46 AM IST
