PhonePe, a Walmart-owned fintech firm, named Ritesh Pai as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its international payments unit. The decision comes as India prepares to take the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) global. According to industry insiders, countries such as Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, the United Kingdom, and others are considering to adopt the UPI model.
Pai is a seasoned digital payments sector leader with a track record of delivering new products and establishing strategic business collaborations throughout the world.
“Ritesh has been an early believer and staunch supporter of the company and was very instrumental in our early UPI success story,” said Sameer Nigam, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of PhonePe. “I’m delighted that he’s joined us to lead our international growth plans”, he added further.
As TerraPay’s president of products and solutions, he was in charge of launching and implementing payment products and solutions globally. Prior to that, he was the senior group president and chief digital officer at Yes Bank, where he oversaw the bank’s digital strategy and transformation and established numerous successful collaborations with many of today’s leading fintech businesses.
“I am excited to join PhonePe as it takes significant strides in shaping the future of digital payments on a global scale,” said Ritesh Pai, CEO, International Payments, PhonePe. “PhonePe has achieved market leadership in India with its unwavering commitment to product innovation and building customer-centric solutions. I am confident that this same focus will help us expand our footprint beyond national borders, taking our payment technology to an international audience”, he added.
PhonePe launched a solution early last year that will allow the fintech firm’s Indian users traveling overseas to pay foreign businesses via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). ‘UPI International’ supports merchant outlets with a native QR (quick response) code in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Nepal, and Bhutan. Users will be able to make direct payments in foreign currency from their Indian bank, much like they do with international debit cards, according to the company. PhonePe, which is supported by Walmart, claims to be the first Indian fintech app to offer the service.
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