Page 6 - Fintech

Fintech dominates India's startup funding this year, shows Tracxn data

In terms of deal volume, consumer startups saw the highest number of funding rounds (92), ahead of high-tech (70) and retail (61)

Business in financial services just got easier with Budget 2025-26 reforms

Budget reforms will redefine the financial system by fostering inclusion, competition, and efficiency. Financial institutions will benefit from enhanced market depth and improved liquidity

Fintechs look beyond traditional means to scale up presence of e₹

More non-bank payment system operators are expected to join the bandwagon to extend the e₹

Fintech firm CheQ aims to check boxes for every credit need

Founder Aditya Soni is very clear that he is not interested in selling financial products; instead, he is laser-focused on keeping customers' credit healthy

Stress continues to build up in fintech lending with PAR on the rise

The Reserve Bank of India's December 2024 Financial Stability Report states that household debt is on a rising trend

India ranks 3rd in global fintech funding despite 33% drop in 2024: Report

India ranked third globally in terms of funding received in the fintech segment despite a decline of 33 per cent on a year-over-year basis to USD 1.9 billion in 2024, market intelligence firm Tracxn said in a report on Monday. The sector witnessed a decline in funding, driven by a broader slowdown in demand and geopolitical headwinds, Tracxn's Annual India fintech report 2024 said. "The fintech sector experienced a notable decline in funding in 2024, with a total of USD 1.9 billion raised. This represents a 33 per cent decrease from the USD 2.8 billion secured in 2023. The Indian fintech ecosystem has solidified its position as one of the top three globally funded fintech ecosystems in 2024, trailing only the US and the UK," the report said. The sector had raised USD 5.6 billion in 2022. The highest funding of USD 805 during 2024 was received by the sector in the third quarter which was 61 per cent higher on a year-over-year (Y-o-Y) basis. Additionally, 59 per cent of the total

With new $650 mn war chest for India, Accel eyes AI, fintech startups

Global venture capital firm Accel on Monday announced that it has raised a USD 650 million early-stage fund to fuel the next generation of category defining startups in the focus sectors of artificial intelligence (AI), consumer, fintech and manufacturing. Accel is the first institutional investor in 80 per cent of its portfolio companies. Its prominent portfolio companies include BlackBuck, BlueStone, Cult.fit, Flipkart, Freshworks, Swiggy, Urban Company and Zetwerk. "Accel, a leading global venture capital firm, today announced that it has raised a USD 650 million early-stage fund dedicated to supporting bold founders in India and Southeast Asia," the company said in a release. Accel said its latest fund eighth in India and Southeast Asia -- builds on its commitment to partnering with early-stage founders to establish disruptive, category defining businesses that create meaningful impact. Sectors in focus for this fund include AI, consumer, fintech and manufacturing. On Accel's

Accel's $650 mn India fund to focus on AI, fintech startups, manufacturing

One of the opportunities identified by Accel under the consumer theme is 'Bharat', where startups cater to the top 30 per cent of households in India's Tier-2+ regions

Digital fintechs see double-digit jump in loans, quantum of disbursals

The data has been sourced from 34 FACE members lending to customers through their non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in partnership with other regulated entities

PPI wallets register 20% drop to 1.14 bn in November, says RBI data

But prepaid payment instrument cards grow on a smaller base

MobiKwik share price jumps 117% in 2 days vs issue price amid strong demand

MobiKwik's shares made its debut on Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Notably, the share has rallied 36.80 per cent in two days

Fintech firms embrace AI for credit, payments, customer insights, more

AI models help financial institutions in understanding delinquencies and speed up disbursements

Paytm arm to sell stock acquisition rights in Japan's PayPay for Rs 2.3K cr

Fintech firm and owner of Paytm brand One97 Communications' Singapore-based arm has approved the sale of its Stock Acquisition Rights in Japan's PayPay to Softbank Vision Fund 2 for Rs 2,364 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing on Saturday. Paytm and Paytm Singapore had signed an agreement with the Japanese digital wallet firm, Softbank Corp, Softbank Group Corp and Yahoo Japan Corporation to provide technology services to PayPay. In lieu of the services, Paytm Singapore had acquired Stock Acquisition Rights, convertible into 1,59,012 shares or a 7.2 per cent stake in PayPay on a fully diluted basis. "One97 Communications Singapore Private Limited has informed the company on December 06, 2024, at 12:49 pm (IST), that its Board of Directors at its meeting held on December 06, 2024, has approved the sale of all its Stock Acquisition Rights in PayPay Corporation, Japan, to SoftBank Vision Fund 2 entity for net proceeds of JPY 41.9 billion (equivalent to Rs 2,364 crore)," the

MobiKwik cuts issue size for third time, sets price band at Rs 265-279

In FY24, MobiKwik recorded its first fully profitable year, reporting a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 14.08 crore, following a loss of Rs 83.8 crore in FY23

Fintech major PhonePe eyes replicating UPI success via diversification

At present, the overall user base of PhonePe is over 500 million. Of these, its merchant base is over 40 million

Fintech firm MODIFI targets to finance 500 SMEs in next 2-3 years

Amsterdam-headquartered fintech MODIFI on Tuesday said it aims to finance over 5,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across India in the next two to three years. Having facilitated over USD 3 billion in global trade across over 1,800 trading partners in more than 55 countries since its inception, India remains pivotal to MODIFI's global expansion journey, a release said. The company, a global player in cross-border B2B trade finance and payments solutions, launched its India operations in 2019, making it the first international market outside Europe. In India, the release said, the company has provided trade financing to firms across key export sectors like renewables, automotive, chemicals, and textiles. "With our latest funding, we are doubling down on our India operations to meet the increasing demand for flexible, digital trade finance solutions," said Matthias Hendrichs, Chief Commercial Officer of MODIFI Global. With a 38 per cent year-on-year growth, the fintech said it

RBI lifts supervisory restrictions on Sachin Bansal-led Navi Finserv

Following the imposition of restrictions on Navi, the lender cancelled a scheduled fund raising activity of Rs 100 crore. Rating agency CRISIL had also put Navi's ratings on "rating watch"

Regulatory compliance important to stay ahead of fraudsters: DFS Secy

He stressed the importance of regulatory compliance to stay one step ahead of fraudsters in the industry

Indian tech eyes $25 billion goldmine in embedded finance: Report

Large user bases make platforms ideal for integrating the financial services. The industry lending category is the one with highest relevance for integrating financial services

Cedar-IBSi Capital plans to fund 10-15 startups in fintech sector

Cedar-IBSi Capital on Saturday said it is looking to invest in 10-15 startups working in the banking and insurance technology segment to expand its footprint in the country. "The fund plans to build a portfolio of the companies, allocating a budget within the range of Rs 4-10 crore, with an intensified focus on financially strengthening 8 to 10 high-performing companies," it said. The fund has already gathered commitments in the range of Rs 50-75 crore from its Rs 240 crore early-stage fund launched in 2023, it added. "We are focusing on investing in startups which offer unique products and innovative tech to help improve efficiency at financial institutions. We have made our first investment in Cogniquest, an intelligent document processing tech company and are looking forward to announcing our second investment shortly," Sahil Anand, Founder and Managing Partner, Cedar-IBSi Capital, said. The business-to-consumer disruption has taken place in the last 5-8 years, but the software