Top UPI Stocks in India
When was the last time you went
to your bank branch or used a check to pay someone?
You
can’t remember that, right? This is because we have significantly moved to the
digital payment route using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) apps.
The
wave of digitalisation has empowered our payments, thanks to the UPI mobile
applications. Today, we just make and receive payments quite speedily than
before. We scan a QR and send money. We find a number from our contact list and
send money. We pay for buying things online and offline, pay utility bills,
book tickets etc., within just a few seconds with UPI.
These
companies reward us for paying digitally by offering attractive discount
coupons and cashback. The need to add a person as a beneficiary or go to a bank
branch to make a payment is reduced.
Thus,
with the rise in UPI users and UPI payments, their reach has quadrupled over
the past five to ten years. In this blog, we will discuss the progress made by
UPI companies and the performance of their stocks. Let us start by
learning what these stocks are.
UPI stocks in India
Stocks
of companies providing UPI interface to the customers, such as Paytm, can be
termed UPI stocks. The three popular players in the UPI and digital wallets domain
are Phone Pe, Paytm and Mobikwik.
Out
of these, Paytm launched its IPO in November 2021. Out of the other two
players, Phone Pe and Mobikwik are prepping to come up with their IPO
soon. The business model of these UPI companies is more or less the same.
All these companies majorly focus on the digital payment universe.
The Growth of the UPI universe
As
per the January 2022 data, Phone Pe, Google Pay and Paytm are neck and neck
concerning making UPI payments. Phone Pe taking the significant chunk serves
the volume of 41%. Its competitor, Google Pay, has a UPI transaction volume of
37%. (The data is expected to fluctuate and never remain constant). As per
the 2022 data, UPI transactions crossed more than a billion in 2020-21 and are
expected to grow at a CAGR of 122%.
The
speed with which the UPI acceptance is growing shows the movement of India
towards becoming a cashless economy.
Therefore, UPI is not just benefiting its users but also the economy as a
whole. UPI is expected to become one of the most used digital payment mediums
in India. It is gaining quite a lot of traction lately.
One
main reason UPI payments gain traction is the quickness and ease of making
digital payments.
Additionally, the pandemic push for digital payments, attractive cashback and
coupons have made UPI the champion of digital payments in India. These
benefits of UPI have made it a preference for small vendors and businesses.
Especially
when it comes to small businesses, UPI payments have made it easier to create
seamless transactions and manage multiple accounts through a single mobile
application.
With UPI transactions being free, the transaction cost that occurs while paying
through digital mediums like credit and debit cards can be avoided. Also, UPI
payments can be tracked and accounted for at a single place through the
transaction history of your UPI mobile application.
This
helps small businesses reduce costs, provide payment versatility, secure
transactions and quicker settlements. To provide more efficient services
to small businesses, the BHIM UPI app has recently launched a lite version
called UPI lite.
The Future of UPI stocks
With
a vast population, there is still a lot of scope for UPI adoption to grow in
India. As more and more Indians get access to a smartphone and the internet,
the number of UPI transactions is set to rise, making it a fast-growing market.
With
the ease of use, quickness, zero transaction cost and security, UPI can outdo
other payment mediums like credit cards and debit cards. These hassle-free
payment features of UPI can help it be adopted globally. Yes, UPI is now
started to be widely accepted not just in India but also internationally.
Recently,
Bhutan became the first country to adopt UPI in 2022. And then, there are more
UPI businesses lining up to launch their IPOs.
Upcoming
UPI stocks to look for are PhonePe and MobiKwik, which might launch their IPO
in 2022. This will help in analysing and comparing the performance of different
UPI stocks in a better way.
How is the listed UPI stock performing?
Currently,
Paytm, an online payments app offering UPI services, among others, is listed on
the stock exchange. While the UPI volume and reach seem thriving, the
short-term returns on the Paytm stock were more or less lacklustre.
One97
communications, the holding company of Paytm, launched its shares in November
2021. Since the launch of Paytm shares, its prices have steeply declined and
went to as low as 70 per cent from its listing value in March 2022.
However,
even after being in a thriving UPI space, Paytm stocks couldn’t run up the mile
in terms of their shareholder expectations. The boom in the acceptance and
usage of UPI in India wasn’t reflected in the company's stock price.
The
fall in the price of the Paytm stock was mainly due to the announcement by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in March. The RBI had ordered Paytm to stop taking
new customers in the Paytm Payments Banks for multiple supervisory
concerns.
This
led to a negative sentiment among its investors. This, along with the contagion
of the Ukaraine-Russia war, led to its stock price falling drastically.
UPI stocks VS Banking Stocks
Currently,
there is not enough historical data to compare the performance of UPI stocks vs
banking stocks. However, with the growth of the UPI universe and more UPI
stocks entering the market soon, this comparison would be possible.
Summing up
With
the rising acceptance of UPI in India and the world, there is a long way to go
for UPI companies in India. Even with the current UPI stock, Paytm, its stock
prices have recently recovered by around two per cent in June 2022.
With
Phone Pe and Mobikwick bringing their IPOs this year, only time will tell which
UPI stock wins the profits race. These stock listings will also help investors
get a better insight into the performance of UPI stocks. This will also help
investors find value in UPI stock investments in India.
*Disclaimer: The stock(s)
discussed above aren't recommendations from Finology, they are only picked to
make you understand the concept.
