Page 15 - Fintech Sector

FM Nirmala Sitharaman asks fintechs to blend innovation, compliance

Regulators told to hold monthly meetings with startups and fintech firms

EU council adopts euro instant payments rules to take on Visa, Mastercard

The Council added that the new rule would factor in countries outside of the euro-zone economic bloc

FM Sitharaman asks RBI to hold monthly meetings with startup, fintech firms

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked Reserve Bank of India to hold monthly meetings with startup and fintech firms to address their concerns, officials said. The minister made the suggestion at a meeting with startup and fintech eco system entities that was attended by top executives of about 50 firms, including Razorpay, CRED, and venture capital firm PeakXV. "Finance Minister suggested that RBI may hold a meeting on a fixed day every month via virtual mode with the startup and fintech firms to address their concerns and issues," one of the officials said. The official said that no Paytm-related anxiety or concerns were shown by the startup founders and fintech entities during the meeting. From the government side, the meeting was attended by Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi, DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) Secretary S Krishnan. RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar was also present. SBI Chairman

Vijay Shekhar Sharma steps down as chairman of Paytm Payments Bank

The Reserve Bank has barred the PPBL from accepting deposits and credits from any customer post-March 15 for persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank

Paytm likely to partner with four banks for enabling UPI transactions

The central bank has asked Paytm Payments Bank, the banking unit of Paytm to wind down its business by March 15, leading to disruption for the popular payment app

PhonePe's Indus Appstore surpasses 100,000 downloads in 3 days of launch

Indus Appstore -- the new Android-based made-in-India app store that is pitted against the might of Google's Play Store -- has surpassed 100,000 downloads in just three days of launch, according to a release on Monday. App developers, tech enthusiasts, and users have actively downloaded the app, recognising the potential impact of Indus Appstore on India's digital ecosystem, the release said. Last week, PhonePe, owned by Walmart Inc, had launched the mobile app marketplace -- Indus Appstore -- to challenge Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store. "Indus Appstore, India's revolutionary new Android-based app store from PhonePe, has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 100,000 downloads in just three days of launch," it said. The "remarkable feat", the release said, underscores the Indian market's eagerness for a localised, inclusive, and developer-empowering alternative to existing app stores. Akash Dongre, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Indus Appstore, said, "W

Indus Appstore crosses 100,000 downloads in three days of its launch

The rapid adoption of the Indus Appstore, particularly as a side-loaded application, which requires users to download it directly from the Indus Appstore website

Experts suggest regulatory review to boost fintechs, ease compliance burden

With fintech sector gaining size and scale, there is a need to relook at the regulatory policies and guidelines to give further impetus to financial inclusion drive and penetration of financial products to the bottom of the pyramid, experts said. The fintech space has revolutionalised the financial sector in the country. It has also helped to a great extent in formalising the Indian economy, but the recent incident of Reserve Bank's action on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) left a section of industry perplexed. Post the RBI's action, a section of the industry expressed sentiment that the regulatory environment, instead of nurturing innovation, could impede the progress of fintech companies. It is being said that technology-led companies have always been ahead of regulations and regulations do catching up. The purpose of creating a payments bank was to serve an unserved and under-served population of India with a min-KYC and full KYC accounts with a credit limit of Rs 2 lakh only. "T

FM-fintech companies meet on Monday: Compliance, innovation on table

Paytm may be absent from the meeting

Decoded: Public tech platform for frictionless credit, demystified

The pilot of this platform, known as a Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit (PTPFC), commenced on August 17 last year

Fintech major Razorpay's latest offerings: PoS device, marketing stack

The Bengaluru-based fintech firm marked its foray into the marketing and growth solutions space as it launched Engage; a full-stack marketing growth suite

Fintech firms will go global with govt's clear thinking, says NPCI chief

NPCI chief Dilip Asbe explained that Indian fintech companies will have to take the lead to explain the country's payment standards to the world before exporting them globally

Angel One plans to raise Rs 2,000 cr to tap opportunities in fintech space

The stockbroker plans to move beyond equity and mutual funds and will offer distribution of credit and fixed-income products

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