Page 2 - Ajinkya Kawale

611 million UPI transactions authenticated using biometrics in June

More than 611 million UPI transactions worth Rs 25,416 crore were authenticated using biometrics in June, reflecting rising adoption of fingerprint and facial recognition

PhonePe appoints Srijon Biswas as CTO; Rahul Chari takes expanded CPTO role

PhonePe has appointed Srijon Biswas as chief technology officer, while co-founder Rahul Chari assumes the expanded role of chief product and technology officer

PhonePe Insurance CEO exits as fintech merges insurance with payments biz

Vishal Gupta, part of PhonePe's founding team, has stepped down as the fintech integrates its insurance business with its consumer payments business

India's agentic AI dream for fintech needs an infrastructure relook

Use cases raise questions around permissions and security, as deployments progress beyond proof-of-concept

Visa passkeys go live in India as IDFC First Bank becomes first issuer

Visa Payment Passkey allows cardholders to authenticate online transactions using biometrics, PINs, passwords or patterns instead of traditional one-time passwords

NPCI partners HSBC India, JP Morgan Payments for real-time forex settlement

The partnership will enable real-time foreign exchange rates for cross-border UPI payments, allowing users to view the exact rupee amount payable at the point of transaction

Businesses not kicked about WhatsApp's username move despite user interest

Businesses say phone numbers will remain central to customer interactions despite WhatsApp's username feature, while cybersecurity experts expect improved privacy and lower spam

Dream Money to wind down ops after RMG ban derails Dream11 diversification

Closure follows the Centre's ban on real money gaming and the Supreme Court's GST ruling, as the company rolls back one of its key diversification initiatives

Fibe files IPO papers; plans ₹750 crore fresh issue, 40 million-share OFS

Digital lender's proposed public issue comprises a Rs 750 crore fresh issue and an offer-for-sale of more than 40 million shares by existing investors

PE/VC investment value declines 24% in May, says EY-IVCA report

Private equity and venture capital investments fell to $2.1 billion across 76 deals in May as geopolitical tensions and valuation mismatches dampened deal activity, EY-IVCA said

Prosus' India revenue up 13%; PayU turns profitable, Swiggy offsets gains

Dutch technology investor reports $781 million India revenue in FY26 as PayU posts positive adjusted Ebitda for the first time, while Swiggy's quick-commerce investments weigh on profits

GIFT City to offer fintechs runway that home turf doesn't to drive growth

Indian fintech firms are expanding into cross-border payments via GIFT City, leveraging IFSCA's PSP licence to tap trade finance, treasury and capital market opportunities

Indian fintechs eye overseas licences as they push into global markets

Cross-border payment firms are seeking licences in markets such as Canada, the US and Singapore as they look to build a multi-country presence beyond India

CoinDCX user base rises 16% in H1CY26 as trading value declines 37%

The crypto exchange added 3 million registered users in the first half of CY26, while trading value declined amid evolving market dynamics and growing institutional participation

Meta invests $900 mn in Cred, Kunal Shah to head WhatsApp globally

Meta acquires a minority stake in Cred through a $900 million investment and appoints founder Kunal Shah as global head of WhatsApp

Agent marketplace one of our large bets, says PayU CPO Manas Mishra

PayU is building AI-powered tools and agent marketplaces as it bets on agentic commerce and payments becoming the next frontier in digital transactions

Smaller AI models likely powering India's escalating deepfake menace

Cheap, customised AI tools are making deepfake scams harder to detect, exposing banks, fintechs and consumers to rising fraud risks

NPCI unveils Drunix to support blockchain and tokenisation ecosystems

The open-source platform is designed to help enterprises build blockchain networks, digital asset ecosystems and tokenisation platforms at scale

Low-cost AI models are fuelling India's growing deepfake fraud threat

Customised applications built on open-source AI models are enabling sophisticated deepfake frauds at lower costs, raising concerns across banking, fintech and digital platforms

India needs a complete sovereign AI stack, not just models: Bessemer

Bessemer Venture Partners says India's AI ambitions must extend from compute and data infrastructure to agents, services and robotics