Page 2 - Ajinkya Kawale

0.4% MDR kicks in from October 15 for ₹2,000-plus UPI payments

Sources stress MDR is not a tax on UPI, since the fee is distributed among participants in the payments chain rather than accruing to the government

Businesses divided on UPI MDR; retailers wary, quick commerce unfazed

Distributors flag concerns over the new UPI merchant charges, while quick-commerce firms expect limited impact as most transactions remain below the Rs 2,000 threshold

No concentration risk, UPI is interoperable: PhonePe cofounder Rahul Chari

Rahul Chari, cofounder and chief technology officer, outlines his plans for the next decade and addresses concerns around concentration risk

UPI's AI protocol temporarily on hold as NPCI builds safeguards

The focus is on user protection, mapping actual risks from potential liabilities when agents go rogue, and governance standards around evolving technologies like these

UPI gets new features: Tap-to-pay, unified window for transaction details

New UPI features enable tap-to-pay at PoS terminals and a unified transaction view, while Bharat Connect adds multicurrency capabilities for forex transactions

PhonePe to launch UAE operations in its first international market foray

The fintech major has secured two licences from the Central Bank of the UAE to offer consumer payment instruments and e-payment acceptance infrastructure to merchants.

AI-led personalisation to open opportunities for new startups: Razorpay CEO

Razorpay CEO Harshil Mathur said AI could lower personalisation costs and help startups target niches such as Gen Z payments, HNI wealth management and multilingual platforms.

'Credit card growth will come from credible, smaller banks beyond top 5'

Gautam Aggarwal explains the opportunity for credit cards in the country, elucidates his strategy on services, and addresses his thoughts on a potential linkage to home grown payments network UPI

Cards a key proposition in the affluent segment, says Suresh Sethi

Suresh Sethi, who took charge as Visa's group country manager for India & South Asia in April this year, addresses the growth challenge for cards amid the growing dominance of UPI

Fintechs race to deploy AI agents, but revenue payoff remains elusive

Paytm, Pine Labs, Razorpay, Cashfree and Juspay are deploying AI agents across merchant and internal workflows, but monetisation remains nascent as most offerings are still being tested

WhatsApp launches bill payments in India, deepening fintech play

The Bharat Connect-powered feature gives users access to 22,722 billers across 30 categories and supports payments through UPI, credit cards and debit cards

Pine Labs appoints former Razorpay executive Jayaram Karthik as COO

Karthik will lead operations and merchant experiences across India and international markets as Pine Labs looks to build a unified operational model globally

Juspay rolls out platform to improve brand discovery across AI interfaces

Breeze Universal connects brands' product catalogues with AI interfaces, allowing shoppers to discover, compare and purchase products within a single conversation

UPI International, built for tourists, now helps with donations for Nepal

Nepal's Embassy asks Indian donors to activate UPI International for contributions to the PM Disaster Relief Fund, taking the payment rail beyond its tourism use case

July records $4.1 billion in PE/VC investments; exit value falls 83%

PE/VC investments rose 3 per cent YoY and 52 per cent sequentially to $4.1 billion in July, while exits fell 83 per cent YoY to $1.6 billion, IVCA-EY data shows

Cashfree rolls out AI agents for merchants to automate payment operations

Cashfree is targeting Rs 20,000 crore in lost GMV through AI agents that can follow up on abandoned carts, retry failed payments and manage disputes

Payment aggregators push for fixed and direct share of UPI MDR

The demand is likely to draw resistance, as payment aggregators are not direct members of the UPI network run by the NPCI

We are well capitalised right now: Navi Finserv MD & CEO Abhishek Dwivedi

'Our target group has been young middle class. Over the years, we have graduated to a slightly higher ticket size doing about Rs 1.5 lakh in average ticket size in unsecured credit or personal loans;

Debit card rule may act as template to shield UPI users from MDR fee

A 2017 RBI rule barring merchants from passing debit card MDR to customers could guide safeguards against similar charges on UPI payments

Sachin Bansal-led Navi raises $100 mn from Prosus in maiden funding round

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, including a CCI nod, and comes as the Bengaluru-based fintech prepares for a potential initial public offering