Page 9 - Fintech Sector

ADB approves $23 mn loan to boost fintech education, research in Gujarat

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it has approved a USD 23 million loan to enhance access to quality fintech education, research, and innovation at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in India. GIFT is a state-owned enterprise established to promote and cultivate fintech ecosystems and financial services in India. It is the country's first international financial services centre and has become a fast-growing area for helping and developing local startups. "The development of India's fintech industry has transformed how people do business, contributed to economic growth, and prepared the country for the future," ADB economist Kanupriya Gupta said. "ADB's assistance will help strengthen the country's fintech education to ensure that digital and financial services become more efficient and accessible in the future," he added. In a statement, ADB said the project will construct an inclusive, sustainable, and climate-resilient International Fintech Institut

What makes Indian fintech fast and furious, but also a little fraudulent?

Know-your-customer, or KYC, regulations aren't easy anywhere. But fintech adoption in India has done more than just open the floodgates to financial inclusion

Fintech personal loan disbursal up from 1.1 mn to 41.6 mn in 5 years: FACE

Similarly, the value of loans has increased from Rs 5,907 crore to Rs 40,845 crore during the same time

Fintech major PhonePe takes on Google, Apple with homegrown Indus Appstore

The Indus Appstore is PhonePe's attempt at creating a more competitive and localized mobile app store economy for India, which is already the world's largest market for mobile apps

PayPal registers with FIU of India under anti-money laundering law

American online payments gateway service provider PayPal has registered its operations with the Financial Intelligence Unit of India, about six years after a protracted legal battle ensued between the two entities. Official sources told PTI that the company has completed the formal procedure of being designated as a reporting entity under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) recently and has submitted the requisite documents to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). PayPal has also appointed a principal officer, as stipulated under the anti-money laundering law, for conducting official communication with the FIU while the appointment of a director, as envisaged under the same law, is in process, they said. "PayPal has registered as a reporting entity with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India, in compliance with the Reserve Bank of India's recent regulatory framework governing cross-border payment aggregators (PA-CB), which is applicable to the PA-CB industry," a PayPal ...

'Capital One-Discover deal could hurt Visa, Mastercard dominance'

The all-stock deal would give Capital One access to Discover's network of payments processing and settlement services, potentially allowing it to cut its reliance on Visa and Mastercard

Paytm Payments Bank, RBI controversy: How will it impact the customers

The company, part of One97 Communications, is a leader in Indian fintech and faces challenges of regulatory scrutiny and customer uncertainity

Paytm fiasco: FM Sitharaman to meet heads of fintech firms next week

Amid the ongoing problem faced by leading fintech player Paytm, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has decided to meet heads of financial technology companies next week to persuade them to strictly follow regulatory norms. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd, an entity promoted by One97 Communications Ltd, faced regulatory actions by the Reserve Bank for failure to comply with host of regulatory norms, including Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines. According to sources, Sitharaman will be meeting CEOs of fintech companies next week to hear their concerns and problems. However, sources said, she will impress upon them the need to abide by regulatory norms as they are dealing with money of individuals. The meeting is expected to see participation from senior officials of Reserve Bank, finance ministry, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, among others. Last week, the RBI advised customers as well as merchants of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to shift their accounts to othe

FinMin to meet fintech startups next week amid Paytm Payments Bank row

The meetings come in the wake of the Paytm Payments Bank crisis triggered by the Reserve Bank of India ordering the banking unit of digital payments firm Paytm to wind down operations

Stock of this non-banking finance company has zoomed 105% in 3 months

Shares of Paisalo Digital rallied 15% to hit a record high of Rs 164 in intra-day trade on Monday, thus surging 63% in past one month on promoter buying and strong December quarter earnings.

Stocktaking on the fintech revolution

Financial economic policy in India holds back the possibilities

Paytm Payments Bank row drew fintechs' focus to compliance of laws: MoS IT

The Reserve Bank's regulatory action on Paytm Payments Bank has drawn the attention of fintech firms to the importance of complying with laws, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said. The minister stressed that regulatory compliance cannot be "optional" for companies, rather it is an aspect every entrepreneur must pay full attention to. In an interview to PTI, Chandrasekhar - the minister of state for electronics and IT - said the issue of Paytm Payments Bank is a case where a hard-charging and aggressive entrepreneur has failed to realise the need for regulatory compliance, and that no company can get away if it is non-compliant with law. Any company, be it from India or abroad, big or small, has to abide by the law of the land, the Minister asserted amid the unfolding Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) crisis. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred PPBL from accepting new deposits from March 15, and ruled out any review of its action against the company. Chandrasekhar said

Not planning harsher rules to curb fintech, says RBI's P Vasudevan

There are "no harsher measures coming on fintech," P. Vasudevan, an executive director in charge of enforcement at the Reserve Bank of India, said on Friday

Paytm's tentative timeline to restart loan sanctioning ends on Feb 14

The tentative timeline shared by fintech firm Paytm to resolve operational challenges coming in the way of its lending business and restart sanctioning of new loans is ending on February 14. One97 Communications President and Chief Operating Officer Bhavesh Gupta in a company conference call on February 1 had said that the company will not be issuing new loans for "maybe a couple of weeks" before resolving operational challenges posed due to RBI restriction Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL). The central bank, on January 31, directed it to stop accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and other instruments after February 29. While the lending business of Paytm is not linked with PPBL, there are around 10-15 per cent of Paytm merchants, which are around 60,000-70,000 merchants, who are estimated to have autopay mandate set up through their PPBL account. Paytm needs to migrate repayments linked to PPBL to other banks to avoid disruption in repayments.

Paytm hiring for various positions across products, business divisions

Paytm, whose payments bank venture is facing regulatory action, is hiring for various positions across product and business divisions, according to a blog. The blog posted on Paytm's website said recruitment partners are continuing to see high interest from top talents in the country to join the company. Page Group, a recruitment partner of Paytm, said the company is currently hiring for product and business positions. "We have been recruiting high calibre and premium talent for the Paytm business for a while now, and expect the trend to continue. We are actively seeking individuals for product and business positions at Paytm, and there continues to be strong interest from quality candidates for these roles," PageGroup MD Ankit Agarwala said in the blog. The company is going through a crisis situation due to restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India on its associate entity Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), which houses wallet and UPI services that are provided through the

Paytm hits new low, falls 10% after Macquarie slashes target to Rs 275

Macquarie sharply cut the target price to Rs 275 from Rs 650, driven by a reduction in revenues across various segments

A moment of reflection for startup founders

If there's one lesson fintech stars can draw from Paytm's regulatory challenges, it's not to take their stardom for granted

Global fintech investment drops to 5-year low, India funding halves to $3 bn

Geopolitics conflicts, the high interest rate environment, and the barren exit environment across regions saw fintech investors holding onto their cash throughout much of the year.

Ashneer files plea in NCLT, seeks exemptions in petition against BharatPe

BharatPe co-founder and former managing director Ashneer Grover has filed a plea before NCLT seeking waiver over a petition earlier filed by him alleging oppressive conduct and mismanagement by the board of the fintech firm. On this, the Delhi bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday issued a notice, seeking reply from BharatPe and other respondents and listed the matter for the next hearing in April. Last December, Grover had filed a plea before NCLT alleging oppressive conduct and mismanagement by the board of Resilient Innovations Pvt Ltd, which is doing business as BharatPe, under sections 241 and 242 of the Companies Act 2013. However, section 244 of the Act also mandates that the shareholder, to file an appeal under section 241, should have a minimum of 10 per cent of the shares of the company. It also empowers NCLT "may, on an application made to it in this behalf, waive all or any of the requirements specified" so as to enable a petitioner to apply under sect

Paytm PB aftershocks: Fintechs step up customer outreach with target ads

While Paytm remains the leading player in the PoS segment, competition is heating up