Archive · 25 Sep 2026
PhonePe Targets Rural India With 20,000 Hires, Payment Devices
PhonePe wants more shops in small towns and villages to accept digital payments.
It plans to hire over 20,000 people to help shopkeepers start using these services.
It will also place more than 5 million payment devices across India.
About half of the devices will go to rural areas, including tier-6 towns.
Workers will help merchants complete identity checks and use the devices.
A new fee system called MDR will apply to some larger UPI payments.
PhonePe says this fee will help it invest in reaching more merchants.
The company also says digital payment records could help eligible merchants obtain formal loans.
PhonePe plans to hire more than 20,000 frontline sales workers over the next 12 months.
The company will deploy over 5 million SmartSpeakers and point-of-sale devices, with about half placed in rural India.
The expansion will target smaller towns, villages and tier-6 locations, including merchant onboarding, KYC and ongoing support.
PhonePe said the new MDR framework and a small-merchant fund using 5% of MDR collections support long-term investment.
From October 15, a 0.4% MDR will apply to specified UPI merchant payments above ₹2,000, while qualifying small merchants remain exempt.
- Who
- PhonePe, with support from the merchant payments ecosystem overseen by the National Payments Corporation of India.
- What
- PhonePe plans to hire more than 20,000 sales personnel and deploy over 5 million payment devices.
- When
- Over the next 12 months; the specified MDR rules begin on October 15.
- Where
- Across India, particularly smaller towns, villages, rural areas and tier-6 towns.
- Why
- PhonePe says the MDR framework and a dedicated small-merchant fund make it possible to invest in broader merchant expansion.
- Planned hires
- More than 20,000 frontline sales personnel over 12 months
- Payment devices
- More than 5 million SmartSpeakers and point-of-sale devices
- Rural allocation
- Approximately 50% of devices are planned for rural India
- MDR rate
- 0.4% on specified person-to-merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000
- Small-merchant exemption
- Merchants with monthly UPI QR receipts below ₹1 lakh remain exempt
- Small-merchant fund
- 5% of MDR collections will support expansion in deep rural areas
- Existing network
- More than 720 million registered users and over 50 million merchants as of August 2026
