On September 9, 2026, PhonePe and Visa jointly unveiled three new payment solutions at the Global Fintech Fest 2026. The launch includes Tap to Pay, Cross Border Scan to Pay, and Smart Accept, making PhonePe the first app in India to introduce Cross Border Scan to Pay for international transactions. This partnership also positions PhonePe as the first app to enable a complete suite of three core Visa capabilities for consumers.
Expanding a Cardless Payment Ecosystem
This initiative builds on Visa Device Tokenization introduced on PhonePe in February 2025. Once a user saves a Visa card on PhonePe, they can tap their phone at stores, check out online, or scan QR codes while traveling abroad. This creates a seamless cardless payment ecosystem that eliminates the need to carry physical cards altogether.
Tap to Pay for Everyday Transactions
Android users can tokenize their Visa cards to make contactless payments at point-of-sale machines across participating merchant locations. The capability is designed to work even in low-connectivity environments, broadening its practical value for everyday transactions. PhonePe will roll out Tap to Pay progressively in phases beginning on September 9, 2026 for eligible users.
Cross Border Scan to Pay Simplifies Travel
Cross Border Scan to Pay allows users to scan Visa-supported QR codes across 14 key international markets. These markets include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Japan, China, and South Korea, with more destinations expected over time. The feature removes currency exchange friction for Indian travelers and will be rolled out to users soon.
Unified Online Tokenization Expands Security
PhonePe has integrated unified online tokenization to deliver a secure save once, use everywhere checkout experience. Consumers can store their Visa card once and use it across all participating e-commerce merchants without repeatedly entering card details. Millions of consumers are already using this feature on the PhonePe platform, demonstrating its early acceptance.
Smart Accept Brings Card Acceptance to Micro-Merchants
Smart Accept empowers small merchants to accept card payments directly on their smartphones without buying a separate card point-of-sale machine. Customers can pay by tapping physical cards or tokenized mobile wallets against the merchant device, eliminating the need for dedicated POS hardware. The solution brings the cost of card-present device ownership to zero, simplifies onboarding, and fully integrates card payments into PhonePe's existing QR dashboard for unified reconciliation and dispute resolution.
Leadership Views on Borderless Commerce
Rahul Chari, Founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer at PhonePe, said the partnership supports the company's vision of making payments universally accessible, intuitive, and secure. He noted that unifying online tokenization, Tap to Pay, cross-border QR payments, and Smart Accept removes friction across the payments value chain. Suresh Sethi, Group Country Manager for India and South Asia at Visa, added that the collaboration reflects a shared vision to bring trusted, secure, and frictionless commerce to every Indian across borders.
The PhonePe and Visa partnership represents a meaningful step toward a borderless and cardless commerce ecosystem in India. By combining Visa's global network and tokenization capabilities with PhonePe's reach, the collaboration aims to make secure digital payments more accessible for consumers and micro-merchants. The rollout of these features will likely shape how Indian users transact at home and abroad in the coming months.