BUSINESS
Uni raises $70 million led by General Catalyst at a valuation of $350 million
The startup aims to grow monthly disbursals from Rs 175 crore currently to Rs 1,500 crore in a years’ time and will be launching four new products in the next few months.
BUSINESS
Juspay raises $60 million in Series C funding led by SoftBank
This investment marks Softbank's second big bet after Paytm in the Indian fintech space. Justpay will use this funding to expand in India and internationally
BUSINESS
Digital payments in India will reach $1 trillion by FY26, estimates CLSA
The report highlighted that it is crucial for payments players to monetise their customer and merchant base to have a sustainable revenue model. CLSA expects the Buy Now Pay Later market to grow five times by FY26
BUSINESS
PhonePe says it makes up 61% of UPI payments to merchants in November
PhonePe also said it has achieved its target of digitising 25 million small merchants and kirana stores in the country, weeks ahead of its December-end deadline.
BUSINESS
Paytm's GMV jumps 129% to Rs 1.66 trillion in October, November on higher festive spends
The company's GMV rose to Rs 1.66 lakh crore (trillion) in October and November versus Rs 72,800 crore in same period of the corresponding year
BUSINESS
Exclusive | Introduce licensing for exchanges, KYC and FEMA norms for customers: crypto industry tells Parliamentary panel
The crypto industry body clarified that the intent is for crypto-tech to co-exist seamlessly with sovereign currencies rather than replace or compete with them. It answered the Parliamentary Standing Committee’s queries on how cryptos can be classified, according to sources.
BUSINESS
Crypto as an asset class is a risk to equity, says Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath
Kamath said startup founders should raise funds only when required and not just because it is available. Kamath and PB Fintech founder Yashish Dahiya were speaking at Razorpay’s annual event on the future of fintech IPOs.
BUSINESS
Razorpay eyes $90 billion in Total Payment Volumes for 2022, crosses $50 billion milestone
Amid reports that the startup is looking to raise a fresh round of funds, co-founder Harshil Mathur said that the company is in talks with investors but did not share any concrete plans. Mathur is optimistic that the startup will see a 2.5x growth in revenues in FY22.
BUSINESS
RBI on digital payments: A win for UPI, a setback for Paytm and other wallet players?
Analysts expect the RBI to crack down on transaction fees levied for using e-wallets, a major setback for fintechs and their revenues. UPI transactions are expected to grow further if feature phone users are brought on the platform.
BUSINESS
Dhan introduces direct trading through charts, ties up with TradingView
Users will be able to trade directly through TradingView charts in equity, options and futures for indices, equity, commodity and currency, Dhan has said
BUSINESS
UIDAI getting Aadhaar future-ready, looking to collaborate with international organisations
UIDAI CEO Dr Saurabh Garg said that use cases of Aadhaar beyond financial inclusion are being explored for social security, healthcare, pension, disbursal of benefits and scholarships.
BUSINESS
Simpl raises $40 million in Series B; co-founder clears air on lawsuit
While Simpl is eyeing 10x growth in its user base, it finds itself mired in a lawsuit filed against the company by erstwhile co-founder Chaitra Chidanand. The company will also have to wait for RBI guidelines on digital lending for further regulatory clarity.
BUSINESS
WhatsApp can help onboard next 500 million users on UPI, says India head
WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose said that the company can help scale financial inclusion and help people get access to microfinance digital banking services. Currently, WhatsApp is allowed to onboard only 40 million UPI users as per NPCI's directions.
BUSINESS
UPI transactions dip in November post October's festive rush
UPI recorded 418 crore transactions in November with a value of Rs 7.68 lakh crore. This breaks UPI's five-month streak of consistent month-on-month growth, but transaction values continue to be higher than $100 billion for the second straight month.
BUSINESS
Why has RuPay rattled Visa and MasterCard?
Usage under the Jan Dhan scheme and push by the government for PSU banks to use RuPay have led to a jump in its market share. However, RuPay continues to lag in the credit card market and forms a small share of the volume and value of card transactions in India.
BUSINESS
Sachin Bansal’s Navi Technologies posts Rs 71 crore profit in FY21, revenue up 143% YoY
Navi aims to compare itself with banks, NBFCs and is awaiting RBI’s nod for a universal banking license. The startup’s income jumped by 251% to Rs 780 crore in FY21.
BUSINESS
Cashfree Payments invests $15 million in UAE-based payment gateway Telr
Cashfree aims to become the top payment service provider in the Middle East and North Africa region in the coming years. With Telr, Cashfree will develop a unified cross-border payments platform to help Indian merchants accept payments from customers in the MENA region and vice-versa.
BUSINESS
Visa need not get scared of RuPay, they should focus on what India needs: Former NPCI CEO AP Hota
Speaking on reports of Visa Inc's concerns about the Indian government promoting RuPay, Hota said that RuPay has not received any favours from the government beyond inclusion in the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. RuPay's share in the domestic card market stands at over 60 percent.
BUSINESS
Slice joins unicorn club with $220 million fundraise led by Tiger Global, Insight Partners
Slice will further launch more payments products, starting with UPI. Currently it is issuing 200,000 pay later Visa cards a month, just behind leading credit card issuers like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.
BUSINESS
Paytm IPO: One 97 Communications Q2 revenue rise 64%
This was driven by 52 percent growth in non-UPI payment volumes (GMV) and more than three times growth in financial services.
BUSINESS
NPCI increases WhatsApp UPI payment cap to 40 million users from 20 million
WhatsApp’s messenger service has over 400 million users in India and lifting the limit for the payment service in one go may lead to extremely high transaction volumes on NPCI’s platform.
BUSINESS
Unicorn Club | Upstox's valuation to soar to $3-3.5 billion with new funding round led by Tiger Global
Upstox has raised $24.7 million from Tiger Global, as part of a larger funding round, according to regulatory filings. This mark's the company's entry into the unicorn club.
BUSINESS
Neobanks to seek clarity from Niti Aayog on digital banking licence suggestions
Licensing will allow unregulated neobanks to eventually operate as full-stack digital banks on meeting certain specified requirements.
BUSINESS
Explained: All that we know about the upcoming Cryptocurrency Bill 2021
Industry experts and lawyers expect regulations to ensure better monitoring of crypto transactions and guidelines around penalties for fraudulent activities. Clarity is awaited on how crypto assets and related services will be taxed.
