The new tango between banks and fintechs: Rivals of yore turn partners

Banks and fintechs are realising that disruption has a huge collaborative aspect to it too

Last month, HDFC Bank picked up a 5.2 per cent holding in Mintoak Innovations, a merchant solutions’ provider, for Rs 10 crore. In February, ICICI Bank acquired 5.40 per cent in CityCash, a micro-payments player, for Rs 4.93 crore, and 9.63 per cent in Thillais Analytical Solutions — which operates the neo-banking platform, Vanghee — for Rs 6.03 crore.

These are tiny in terms of deal size, but major steps in the banks’ efforts at getting their digital act spot on. And it mirrors a global trend.

New York-based C B Insights has it that banks are future-proofing by investing