Streamlining Recurring Payments:
Improving PhonePe’s AutoPay Experience
Launched in 2016, PhonePe is one of India’s leading digital payment platforms, offering a secure, fast & user-friendly way to manage financial transactions.
Built on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), PhonePe has transformed fintech ecosystem for millions of Indians.
PhonePe has over 500+ million registered users and processes billions of transactions every month, making its a key player in India’s digital economy.
About PhonePe
Money Transfers
Wallet
PhonePe
Merchant
Loans
Personal, Goal & more
Investments
SIP & Mutual Funds
Travel & Transit
Flights, Trains, Bus, Hotels, Metro
Bill Payments
Rent, Recharge Electricity, Loan EMIs
Insurance
Car, Health, Personal, Term Life, Travel
Offerings
“Doesn’t it happen to you sometimes that you don’t even know what you’re subscribed to?”
Managing auto-pays and subscriptions often lacks transparency and mindfulness. Users need a clearer overview and control over recurring payments to make informed financial decisions.
Problem Statement
Affordability &
Flexibility
Tiered Pricing & Flexible Payment Options
Digital Infrastructure
Increased Internet Penetration & Smartphone Usage
Consumer Behavior Shifts
Convenience & GenZs value experiences & flexibility
Localization &
Personalization
Personalized Offerings & Services
Diverse Industry Penetration
OTT platforms,
E- com & Apps like Swiggy & Uber
FinTech Support
Seamless Transactions & Credit Options like BNPL
₹1,200 Cr
₹36,000 Cr
45.92% CAGR
FY17-18
Market size for subscription businesses in India
Awareness & Control
Understanding data around subscriptions can help users recognize patterns in their spending, identify unwanted recurring charges & take control of their finances.
Financial Literacy
Data-backed design leading to more mindful decisions and better budgeting.
Reduced Anxiety & Surprise Deductions
Visibility into upcoming subscription gives users a sense of preparedness, helping avoid unpleasant surprises, failed payments, & overdrafts.
Enhanced User Trust & Retention
Offering transparent subscription tracking positions PhonePe as a trusted financial partner
Competitive Differentiation
PhonePe can differentiate by providing smart, data-driven subscription management.
Cross-Sell & Personalization Opportunities
With insights of user’s subscriptions, PhonePe can personalize offers, recommend better plans, or suggest savings tools—unlocking revenue potential.
Key Factors contributing to India’s subscription economy success
🔍 Why This Data Matters for Both Users like us & PhonePe?
🧍♀️ For Users
📲 For PhonePe
FY25-26
Market Research
Offers bill reminders and recurring payment options; known for simple UX
Wide range of services; handles subscriptions & bill payments
Tied to Prime subscriptions and utility bill payments
Fintech & Digital Wallets
Neobanks & Personal Finance Apps
🛠️ Tech Behind NeoBanks
Offers bill reminders, spends analysis & have started expanding into financial services
Offers “smart visual insights” into expenses, categorizes recurring transactions & offers clean & easy UI for budget planning
NeoBanks are built on licensed banking infrastructure by Federal Bank so they has native access to all transaction data
Bank Account Linking gives access to transaction history; easy to analyze recurring payments
SMS Parsing to infer that as a spend (e.g., “₹999 debited from your SBI A/c”)
Email Parsing used by CRED (limited) detects invoices & auto-payment confirmations
Recurring Pattern Detection using AI - uses frequency, merchant tags, and transaction descriptions to detect subscriptions & labels it.
Smart categorization of expenses, flags recurring payments & subscriptions
Competitive Analysis
Pain Points
No Centralized Subscription View
Unwanted Auto-Deductions & forgets to cancel free trials
Lacks visibility on her monthly spending with no way to analyze spending
Low Control on AutoPay Rules
🎯 Goals
View & manage all my subscriptions in one place to avoid unintentional spends
Control how much gets auto-deducted and get alerts before deductions
Track how much is going out monthly via AutoPay
Tech-Savvy Youth - Aayushi
Age: 26
Product Designer @Myntra
Income: ₹12–15 LPA
Location: Bangalore (Tier 1)
Psychographics & Behavior
Uses PhonePe daily for UPI, bill splitting, and subscriptions
Subscribed to 5+ services: Netflix, Spotify, Canva, Blinkit+, Hotstar
Has a fast-paced lifestyle; prefers convenience and automation
Regularly forgets trial expiration & low-usage subscriptions
User Personas
Responsible Mid-Aged User - Sanjay
Age: 54
Government Employee
Income: ₹12–15 LPA
Location: Lucknow (Tier 2)
Psychographics & Behavior
Uses PhonePe mainly for bill payments and have recurring payments - SIPs, LIC premiums, Amazon Prime, Milk delivery etc
Uses smartphone confidently but prefers clear, non-cluttered UI
Tends to forget renewal dates & relies on autopay to avoid penalties
Pain Points
Lack of Clarity on which bank/card is linked to which subscription or SIP
Feels anxious when seeing a deduction without clear context
Needs a simple UI to view of upcoming payments (SIPs, LIC, OTTs)
Difficult to Modify AutoPay Settings
🎯 Goals
Want a clear view of all my active AutoPays
I want to know what's being deducted, from where, and how to change it if needed
I want to make timely payments without stress or confusion
New & Improved User Journey
User Journey
Jane Doe
+91 9900990099
Current User Journey
PhonePe Homepage
User Profile
Manage Payments
Manage AutoPay list
Subscription Details
& AutoPay Settings
To improve the current user journey, I will make tweeks in the present UI to present subscription and AutoPay data in a more intuitive, accessible & visually organized format.
This will ensure users can quickly understand where their money is going, what’s active, and what needs attention—especially beneficial for users who are not digitally native.
Beyond the UI refresh, I aim to:
Simplify navigation with a dedicated “Subscriptions” tab accessible directly from homepage
Introduce smart categorization and filters (e.g., Essentials, OTT, SIPs, Loans) to help users segment their AutoPays meaningfully
Add reminders for upcoming deduction to enhance user awareness & financial control
Implement visual analytics (eg. monthly recurring spend summary) with insights & trends
This improved journey will enhance user trust, reduce friction & promote mindful spending and financial clarity for a diverse user base
#1
#2
User
Profile
AutoPay
Manage
Payments
List of all
AutoPay Items
Easy Filter
View Spending
Report
User
Profile
Subscriptions
Tap on a
Subscriptions
Easy Filter
View Spending
Report
List all Recurring Payments
Potential Problems
Misleading Labeling of Investments (SIPs) as 'Spends' could create negative sentiment
Entertainment, SIP & Insurance are fundamentally different intents, one is discretionary, others are essential or aspirational
Clashes with Brand’s Financial Literacy Messaging
Potential Problems
Too Many Clicks - It takes 4 steps to reach insights, could lose users midway, especially those who aren’t tech-savvy.
Mental Model Confusion - Users thinking about “subscriptions” might not instinctively go to “Manage Payments” and they may look for a “Subscriptions” section instead.
Solution #1
Solution #2
Prototyping Solution
Jane Doe
+91 9900990099
Manage Recurring
Payments
Recurring Payment Overdue
₹2,535
Recurring Payments
Recurring Payment Overdue
₹2,535
Active Subscriptions
15
Entertainments
SIP
All
Insurance
₹799
Netflix
Renewed on 04 Mar 2025
Monthly
₹1200
Spotify
Renewed on 05 Mar 2025
Yearly
₹2000
Kotak Equity Fund
Renewed on 01 Mar 2025
Monthly
₹1500
Amazon Prime
Renewed on 08 Sep 2024
Yearly
₹2100
Chat GPT
Renewed on 24 Dec 2024
Yearly
₹599
Zomato Gold
Renewed on 16 Aug 2024
Yearly
₹130
Google One
Renewed on 02 Mar 2025
Monthly
View Spending Report
Jane Doe
+91 9900990099
Subscriptions
SIP
All
Insurance
View Spending Report
Spending Report
Jan
Feb
Mar
May
₹2,535
Apr
Jun
Sep
Jul
Aug
Month-wise Spending
Upcoming Deductions
₹1,521
Active Subscriptions
15
April Expense
₹2,535
News
Entertainment
OTT
Education
Others
4 subscriptions are on Credit Card
❗High risk of missed dues
Spending Report
Jan
Feb
Mar
May
₹2,535
Apr
Jun
Sep
Jul
Aug
Month-wise Spending
Upcoming Deductions
₹1,521
Active Subscriptions
15
April Expense
₹2,535
News
Entertainment
OTT
Education
Others
4 subscriptions are on Credit Card
❗High risk of missed dues
⭐ North Star Metric
Increase in active users regularly checking or managing their recurring payments
It reflects both discovery and actual engagement with the AutoPay section
Supporting Metrics (Input & Output):
🔹Engagement Metrics:
% of users who visit AutoPay/Recurring Payments section monthly → Tracks awareness & habit formation
Tap-through rate on “View Spending Report” button → Measures users interest in financial transparency
Time spent on Recurring Payments screen → Longer time could mean more exploration
Filter usage rate (SIP, OTT, etc.) → Shows if categorization is helpful or ignored
🔹Conversion/Action Metrics:
No. of recurring payments paused via new UI → Indicates improved user control and clarity
No. of manual tags added/edited → Validates that users want more personalization
Increase in linked recurring payments → Suggests more trust in using PhonePe for such tasks
🔹Retention/Behavioral Metrics:
% of users returning to Recurring Payments section next month → Engagement shows lasting value
Change in frequency of missed payments → A drop here means real impact on financial planning
Success Metrics
🚨 1. Feature Discoverability
Problem: Users might not easily find "Subscriptions" tab especially older or non-tech-savvy users
Risk: Low adoption of the redesigned experience.
Mitigation: Use onboarding nudges or tooltips.
🚨 2. Incomplete Subscription Data
Problem: PhonePe might not have visibility into all subscriptions where users might use other ways outside PhonePe's scope.
Risk: Users lose trust if the subscription list seems incomplete or inconsistent.
Mitigation: Offer import options (e.g., scan SMS/email) & clearly mention tracked by label
🚨 3. Privacy & Data Sensitivity
Problem: Users may worry about how PhonePe is identifying subscriptions and analyzing
Risk: Drop in trust or opt-out if users feel their data is being monitored without transparency.
Mitigation: Be transparent in UI messaging & allow users to opt out of tracking.
Potential Pitfalls
What’s Next?
Have a question or a project in mind?
I'd love to hear from you. Let's chat and make something amazing together.
Created with ❤️ by @hetalverma