Big financial companies increase their marketing expenditures to spur expansion

After two years of focusing on profitability and cutting costs, large fintech companies have started increasing their marketing spends again in FY26 to boost growth and gain market share. Digital payments major PhonePe, which filed its draft prospectus in January, spent ₹455 crore on marketing in the first half of the current fiscal, up from ₹307 crore in the same period last year. The company said the higher spending was mainly driven by its payments business and the distribution of the Indus app store. PhonePe reported a net loss of ₹1,444 crore on operating revenue of ₹3,918 crore during the period.

Rival Paytm has also gradually raised its advertising and marketing expenses over the past three quarters. Its spending increased from ₹37 crore in the June quarter to ₹50 crore in September and ₹69 crore in December. Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the company is increasing spends in a calibrated manner to capture more market share. Paytm is now focusing more on growing its consumer payments and UPI business. The company posted a net profit of ₹225 crore and operating revenue of ₹2,194 crore in the December quarter.

Listed fintech firm PB Fintech, which operates Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, also stepped up promotions after reporting strong profits. Its marketing expenses rose to ₹308.5 crore in the December quarter, up 6.5% year-on-year, compared with ₹250–280 crore in previous quarters. Group chairman Yashish Dahiya said the company is promoting products such as term and health insurance, child education and pension plans to drive growth. PB Fintech reported operating revenue of ₹1,771 crore and a net profit of ₹189 crore for the quarter.

Industry experts said marketing has always played a key role in fintech growth, especially through incentives and customer acquisition offers. With many companies now controlling employee costs and managing Esop expenses, they are once again focusing on expanding their user base and core businesses. A more stable regulatory environment is also helping fintechs increase spending with greater confidence.