PhonePe has officially launched the UPI Circle feature in India, a pioneering innovation designed to simplify and secure digital payments within trusted groups such as family, friends, or dependents. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI Circle allows a primary PhonePe user to create a payment circle and authorise secondary users to make payments using their own UPI IDs, even if those secondary users do not have linked bank accounts.
With UPI Circle, the primary user retains full control over the group’s transactions. They can approve or reject every payment request in Partial Delegation mode, monitor spending, access detailed payment histories, and remove secondary users from the circle at any time. This feature is especially beneficial for senior citizens, teenagers, or individuals with limited access to banking services, enabling supervised and secure spending.
To activate UPI Circle, PhonePe users simply open the app, create a circle, and invite trusted contacts by scanning their QR code or entering their UPI ID. Once the invite is accepted, secondary users can make payments online or pay bills using the primary user’s bank account, with seamless authorisation and oversight.
PhonePe’s Chief Business Officer, Sonika Chandra, highlighted that UPI Circle is a significant step toward democratizing digital payments in India, making financial services more accessible and inclusive. The feature aims to reduce payment errors and fraud by enabling quicker, safer transactions within known groups.
PhonePe boasts over 600 million registered users and processes more than 330 million transactions daily, making it one of India’s leading digital payment platforms. The rollout of UPI Circle is expected to further accelerate UPI adoption and enhance user convenience across the country.