Zoho Enters India’s UPI Market with “Zoho Pay”

Chennai, October 2025:
Zoho Corporation, one of India’s leading SaaS companies, is making its debut in the consumer fintech space with the launch of Zoho Pay, a new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application set to compete with PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm.

Dual-Mode Design

Zoho Pay will function both as a standalone payments app and as an embedded feature within Zoho’s home-grown chat platform Arattai, enabling users to send and receive money directly through chat messages — similar to WhatsApp Pay. The app is currently in closed testing and is expected to roll out in phases across India over the next few months.

Key Capabilities

1. Multiple Payment Modes: Supports UPI, debit and credit cards, direct bank transfers, and Zoho’s proprietary Banking Connect interface.

2. Recurring Payments: Enables automated UPI-based payments for bills, subscriptions, and vendor settlements.

3. Business Integration: Natively connects with Zoho Books and Zoho Billing, allowing SMEs to generate invoices and receive payments seamlessly.

4. Enterprise-Grade Security: Built to PCI DSS Level 1 and ISO 27001:2022 standards, with TLS 1.3 and AES-256 encryption ensuring transaction security.

5. Consumer + SMB Reach: Designed for individual users as well as small and medium businesses, extending Zoho’s ecosystem beyond enterprise software.

Strategic Vision

According to founder Sridhar Vembu, Zoho Pay aligns with the company’s mission to build India-first, privacy-centric technology. Much like Arattai was conceived as an alternative to WhatsApp, Zoho Pay aims to become a home-grown challenger in the digital payments space, integrating chat, collaboration, and payments into a single unified platform.

Outlook

With its strong SaaS integration and commitment to data sovereignty, Zoho Pay could reshape how small businesses and consumers manage transactions within India’s UPI ecosystem — reinforcing Zoho’s position as a comprehensive technology provider from enterprise software to everyday payments.

---