PolicyBazaar’s CEO calls SoftBank-backed expansion a “mistake”
“The point is you don’t double capacity suddenly, it doesn’t help,” says CEO Yashish Dahiya.
India
SoftBank splashes $130m in Indian insurtech PolicyBazaar
SoftBank now holds more than a 15% stake.
Overcoming challenges on the road to open banking success
FinTech Futures speaks to Rajashekara V. Maiya at Infosys Finacle about open banking.
B21 launches crypto trading app in India following regulation clarity
India has seen a spike in crypto investing in the last months.
Fintech start-up Simpl targets India’s low credit card adoption
Just 3.85% of Indian consumers have credit cards.
IIFL helps bridge the funding gap for India’s fintech start-ups
The firm says it will fund, mentor and use the fintechs’ products.
Federal Bank picks ACI Worldwide to boost fraud protection
More than $30m was stolen by fraudsters in India last year.
Indian digital wallet LovePay targets Gen Z market
The fintech already has more than 100,00 sign-ups.
Indian SME fintech Zaggle partners with Visa to launch ‘Founders Card’
Both firms want to speed up access to credit for SMEs.
India’s central bank creates $66m digital payments infrastructure fund
RBI has made an initial seed contribution of $33 million (RS 250 crore).
DBS Bank launches real-time payments solution for India truck drivers
The bank partnered with the Transport Corporation of India.
India’s central bank says there are no curbs for banks to serve crypto traders
“No such prohibition exists” for banks, says regulator.
Bank of India selects Uniken REL-ID to secure digital channels
Two firms extend decade-long systems partnership.
India’s micro business financer Lendingkart raises $42.1m in Series D
The total raised includes the start-up’s D1 raise last August.
Indian neobank Walrus aims for teenage market
Newly launched bank wants to help teens learn about “bad world of money”.
MoneyGram and Federal Bank tie up remittance partnership
The partners will offer direct-to-account crediting.
India’s FSS helps Fair Play deliver online payment acquiring
Fair Play is deploying FFS’ Payment Gateway and Merchant Hub.
Paytm Payments Bank partners with Mastercard for physical card rollout
Beta users of the bank will be first to receive the new cards.
Indian challenger-to-be Jupiter raises $2m in venture funding
The new round comes as a top-up to a $24m injection from November 2019.
ICICI Bank launches WhatsApp-based banking service
The Indian bank follows up on its API and digital development.
WorldRemit teams up with Paykii
It will launch international bill payments through its own app/website using Paykii’s tech.
Over one million users migrate from Yes Bank’s to ICICI Bank’s UPIs
The collapse of Yes Bank is causing ripple effects for UPI partners.
India’s lending start-up SMEcorner bags $30m Series B
The round was led by a $10.5 million investment from Germany’s Paragon Partners.
Ecommerce firm Dot lands $8m seed funding
The start-up builds ecommerce solutions for brick and mortar stores.
WhatsApp Pay to launch in India with initial 10m users
Facebook-owned firm plans a full roll-out this year.
How AI can address the global sanctions challenge
Banks shouldn’t delay exploring an AI-powered approach to their existing screening processes.
Banking Technology February 2020 issue out now
Top dogs: The challenger bank success stories of 2019.
Pine Labs becomes Indian unicorn after Mastercard investment
Pine Labs valued at $1.5 billion after latest financing.
Catalyst Fund raises $15m from JP Morgan and UK Aid for emerging market fintechs
Thirty fintech start-ups from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, India and Mexico will get funding.
GetVantage debuts with India’s first revenue-based financing platform
The alternate funding model is gaining significant traction in foreign markets.
ICICI Bank launches portal with around 250 APIs for fintech devs
The bank offers four times the amount of APIs launched by Yes Bank last year.
PayU nabs controlling stake in PaySense, plans merger with LazyPay
PayU splashes $185 million on new acquisition.
Indian challenger founded by Google Pay execs raises $13.2m
Former Google Pay execs aim to tap into India’s millennial market.
Texan fintech HighRadius raises $125m and hits unicorn status
Customers include Nike, Burger King and Sony.
Video: Top fintech stories this week – 06 December 2019
FinTech Future’s weekly news round-up.
Unpacking Europe’s 2019’s major tech milestones with NIIT
FinTech Futures breaks down this year’s trends with Gautam Samanta at NIIT.
Paytm raises $1bn in fresh round of funding
Indian payments giant aims to battle the bigtechs
Amica emerges as latest challenger in Indian banking market
The neobank remains in stealth mode for the time being.
BRICS nations aiming for common payment system
Russian official says the association is looking to reduce reliance on USD.
India’s NSE announces API sandbox for fintechs around the world
The sandbox was launched at Singapore FinTech Festival 2019.
