PhonePe and DPCGC Forge Partnership to Drive Regulatory Compliance in the OTT Ecosystem

National, October 8, 2026: PhonePe and the Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council (DPCGC), a self-regulatory body under the aegis of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), today announced the signing of a  Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The partnership aims to facilitate seamless SRO certification for all merchants, champion regulatory compliance, and drive merchant education for all merchant partners onboarding on PhonePe’s Payment Gateway.

Under applicable Indian regulations, over-the-top (OTT) or Publishers of Online Curated Content (OCCPs) are legally required to be members of a recognized self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for grievance redressal. Pioneering a compliance-first approach, PhonePe enforces this regulatory requirement as a mandatory prerequisite during its merchant onboarding process. DPCGC is a Level II SRO formed under the IT Rules, 2021, which is registered with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Through the MoU, PhonePe and DPCGC aim to drive merchant education and awareness. Recognizing the limited awareness among OTT/OCCPs regarding SRO compliance, the joint initiative will educate both existing and prospective merchants on regulatory requirements and seamlessly facilitate their SRO certification through DPCGC. The partnership further strengthens PhonePe’s position as a trusted, robust, and compliant payment partner tailored for the rapidly growing OTT ecosystem.

Dr. Subho Ray, President of IAMAI, said, “DPCGC, established under the IT Rules, is committed to efficiently addressing concerns and grievances related to OTT platforms through self-regulation. This collaboration between DPCGC and PhonePe will foster greater alignment and adherence to the Code of Ethics, expanding the reach of self-regulation and strengthening its benefits for both the industry and its users.”

Deep Agrawal, Head of Payments at PhonePe, added, “At PhonePe, compliance and trust are at the core of everything we build. The OTT segment has exploded in terms of coverage and penetration over the last couple of years. Our MoU with DPCGC will allow us to educate the OTT platforms to seamlessly drive higher awareness about customer grievance redressal, reinforcing PhonePe as the most trusted & compliant growth partner for India’s booming OTT ecosystem.”

About PhonePe

PhonePe Limited (Formerly PhonePe Private Limited) is a technology company that builds digital platforms for Payments, Digital Distribution Services and Financial Services. Headquartered in India, the PhonePe digital payments app was launched in 2016. As of August 2026, PhonePe has over 72 Crore life-till-date registered users and a digital payments acceptance network spread across over 5 Crore merchants.

PhonePe’s products and services include Consumer Payments (including Digital Distribution Services), Merchant Payments, Lending and Insurance Distribution services, and New Platforms, which comprise Share. Market (stock broking and mutual funds distribution platform), and Indus Appstore (Android-based mobile app marketplace).

For more details, contact: [email protected]

About Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) 

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body with more than 800 members, including Indian and multinational corporations, as well as start-ups. IAMAI has been instrumental in shaping India’s digital economy. IAMAI advocates free and fair competition, and progressive and enabling laws for businesses as well as for consumers. The overarching objective of IAMAI is to ensure the progress of the internet and the digital economy. Its major areas of activities are public policy and advocacy, business to business conferences, research, promotion of start-ups and promotion of consumer trust and safety. 

About Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council (DPCGC)

The Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council (DPCGC) is an autonomous and independent organisation under the aegis of IAMAI. It is a Level II self-regulatory organisation formed under the IT Rules, 2021 which is registered with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. DPCGC’s Grievance Redressal Board is headed by Justice (Retd.) A.K. Sikri, former judge of the Supreme Court of India.