ICICI Bank blocks transactions through Flipkart wallet PhonePe

These moves are seen as banks getting nervous of being disrupted by new-age digital payments players

ICICI Bank has blocked transactions on Flipkart-owned digital payments app PhonePe, accusing it of indulging in restrictive practices and breaking the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) guidelines of interoperability.

The bank began blocking transactions on PhonePe starting Friday, with Flipkart Online CEO Sameer Nigam taking to Twitter to protest the move. He claimed that the bank hadn’t provided the company with any prior warning or information, saying the move was “on purpose”.

Nigam said, “PhonePe has not received any official notice in this regards from NPCI or its banking partner YES Bank yet. Since Friday afternoon, ICICI Bank has blocked all