Page 15 - Fintech Sector

Paytm Payments Bank plans to cut about 20% of staff as business halt looms

Paytm Payments Bank has decided to lay-off staff in certain divisions, including operations, the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said

Fintechs lead small-ticket loans' volume with 77% market share: Report

Fintechs accounted for 50% of the loan volumes disbursed with a ticket size less than Rs 1,00,000 in FY18

As regulatory regime tightens in country, fintech has a long march

Pressure is mounting on companies to get cracking on corporate governance with top-class independent directors on their boards

85% of Paytm wallet users unaffected, rest to link apps to banks: RBI Guv

As many as 80-85 per cent Paytm wallet users will not face any disruption because of regulatory actions, and the remaining users have been advised to link their apps to other banks, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India on January 31 barred Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from accepting deposits, credit transactions, or top-ups in any customer accounts. The deadline for linking the wallet attached with PPBL with other banks has been fixed for March 15, the governor said, ruling out any further extension. The time given up to March 15 is sufficient and there is no need for further extension, he said, adding that 80-85 per cent Paytm wallets are linked to other banks, and the remaining 15 per cent have been advised to move on to other banks. He said that the RBI has taken action against a regulated entity, which in this case is PPBL and has nothing against Fintech companies. Instead, Das stressed that the RBI favours innovation in the financial ...

Paytm PB failed to use mechanism for detecting suspicious transactions: FIU

Paytm Payments Bank failed to put in place an internal mechanism to "detect and report" suspicious transactions as stipulated under the anti-money laundering law and was unsuccessful in conducting due diligence of its payout service, the FIU said in its order that imposed a fine of Rs 5.49 crore on the digital entity. The federal financial intelligence gathering and dissemination agency said in its March 1 order that these charges against the bank, a registered reporting entity with the FIU under the PMLA, were "substantiated" after more than four years of investigation and a show cause notice that was issued against it on February 14, 2022. After the Union finance ministry issued a press statement on the FIU action, a Paytm Payments Bank spokesperson had said that the penalty pertains to issues within a business segment that was discontinued two years ago. "Following that period, we have enhanced our monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms to the Financial Intelligence Unit ...

Paytm will overcome regulatory setbacks, says Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Despite the setbacks, Sharma said he values the role regulators play in creating a healthy environment for startups in India

Visa, Western Union expand their partnership to more than 40 nations

Past iterations of the partnership focused on serving consumers in North America and Europe, said Chris Newkirk, Visa's head of commercial and money-movement solutions

Fintech, age and central banking

Innovations in the fintech sector will continue, but will the innovators in their 40s have the freedom to ignore the regulations set by the central bankers in their 60s?

Fintechs raise UPI payment charging concerns with FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The MDR on UPI payments has been a longstanding demand from the fintech industry, asserting they don't generate revenue from such transactions

Fintech compliances have to be simplified, made user friendly: Sitharaman

She said that the emphasis of the government has been on system reforms to throw out unnecessary laws that may become an instrument in the hands of rent-seekers

RBI revises timeline for completion of Regulatory Sandbox process

The updated framework for an RS also requires sandbox entities to ensure compliance with provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023

Opt for loan apps that have partnered reputable regulated entities

The app must be featured on that entity's website and in RBI's whitelist

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