PhonePe renames Indus Appstore and turns it into a digital goods marketplace

PhonePe has renamed its homegrown app marketplace, Indus Appstore, as PhonePe Appstore and is widening it from app discovery into a marketplace for digital goods, the company said on October 28. Business Standard, Moneycontrol and Entrackr reported the change.

PhonePe launched Indus Appstore in February 2024 as an Indian alternative to the Google Play Store, after acquiring Indus OS in July 2022, according to Moneycontrol. The store supports 12 Indian languages and English and is preinstalled through partnerships with phone makers, which PhonePe says put it on more than 200 million devices. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana are its top five states by adoption.

The expanded store will sell gift cards and digital top-ups alongside apps and games, using PhonePe's payments infrastructure to handle purchases. Gaming top-ups, such as in-game coins and skins, are set to launch first, with dating app boosts and tech top-ups in the pipeline. PhonePe is also launching phonepeappstore.com, a webstore for buying digital goods in desktop and mobile browsers without installing an app.

For developers, PhonePe is pitching integrated payments, advertising and insights as another way to distribute and earn from apps. Chief business officer Priya Narasimhan said the rebrand brings the trust and reach of the PhonePe brand and lets developers earn through ads, gift cards and top-ups. Moneycontrol noted this is PhonePe's second rebrand in recent weeks, after Share.Market became PhonePe Invest.