Digital payment company PhonePe launched a shopping app to promote small and local retailers in India, advancing a government-backed initiative designed to level the playing field for online commerce.

PhonePe’s Pincode app launched for Android and iOS device users in the city of Bangalore, with an initial line-up of grocery, food, pharmaceutical, electronics and interior design businesses.

The company pledged to expand the list of retailers and cities Pincode is available in “very soon”, promising to “invest significant effort” into boosting the business of small local stores.

PhonePe CEO and founder Sameer Nigam stated Pincode “offers a revolutionary new approach to e-commerce” by bringing digital capabilities to small businesses.

He added basing the app on the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) enables PhonePe to “generate demand for merchants digitised by various seller platforms”.

India’s government commenced trials of the ONDC network in Bangalore in September 2022: local magazine Business Today reported the service was available through 26,000 merchants in close to 200 cities by late March.

US retail giant Walmart invested a further $200 million into PhonePe last month, continuing an interest in the business developed since late 2020.