Banking, Fintech & Insurance
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"From UPI to Credit on UPI: How Digital Public Infrastructure is Rewiring India’s ₹200 Lakh Crore Banking Grid"
India’s payments stack is no longer just a rail for money movement; it is becoming a distribution layer for credit. The National Payments Corporation of India’s credit-line-on-UPI framework, combined with Account Aggregator consented data and bank-fintech co-lending, is pushing formal credit deeper into the country’s MSME economy without the friction of branch-led underwriting. For lenders, the prize is access to millions of thin-file borrowers. For regulators, the risk is that speed and scale could outpace underwriting discipline. The shift is especially consequential for public sector banks such as SBI and private lenders including HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, which are partnering with fintechs like Pine Labs and Razorpay to originate and service small-ticket, often unsecured loans. But the model sits inside a tighter prudential regime: RBI’s higher risk weights on unsecured lending, stricter NPA recognition, and pressure to model default behavior in real time. The result is a new contest over who controls credit risk in India’s ₹200 lakh crore banking system.
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JK Tyre Rally of Himalayas Roars Off in Manali With 140 Competitors Set for High-Altitude Test
The sixth edition of the J&K Bank presents JK Tyre Rally of Himalayas was officially flagged off in Manali on Saturday, launching a demanding cross-country motorsport challenge across some of the highest and most rugged terrain in the country. With 140 competitors entered across Moto, Extreme and TSD categories, the rally will traverse Kaza, Jispa, Padum and Pensi La before concluding in Padum, Zanskar, on Wednesday.
Fear of Authority, Trust in Digital Payments Fuel Cybercrime Victimhood, Indian Policing Report Warns
A new report on cybercrime in India says victims are not only those with low digital exposure, but also people who wrongly assume digital payments are inherently safer than other modes. Experts at the launch of the Status of Policing in India Report 2026 said fear of authority, weak bank accountability and organised social engineering are helping cybercriminals thrive.
MDR on select UPI transactions is not a tax or surcharge, will not hit consumers, Sitharaman says
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has pushed back against criticism of the proposed Merchant Discount Rate on select high-value UPI transactions, saying it is neither a tax, cess nor surcharge and will not flow to the government. She said the charge is part of the digital payments ecosystem, will be borne by merchants, and is intended to support infrastructure and innovation in UPI.
Government Says New UPI Merchant Fee Won't Hit Consumers as India Moves to Protect Digital Payments Growth
Government sources on Thursday said the proposed 0.4% merchant discount rate on certain UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 will be borne by merchants, not consumers, and will not flow into government coffers. The move, effective October 15, is aimed at building a sustainable revenue model for the digital payments ecosystem while keeping person-to-person UPI transfers free and shielding most small merchants from the charge.
Per Annum Bets on Rs 10,000 Crore AUM as Retail Investors Move Beyond Traditional Assets
Alternative investment platform Per Annum says it has reached Rs 1,500 crore in assets under management as of August 2026, marking a 400% jump in the past 12 months. The company is now expanding across P2P lending, private credit and fractional real estate as Indian retail investors increasingly seek diversification, yield and exposure beyond equities, gold and fixed deposits.
IRDAI's Insurance Overhaul Sends Insurtech Stocks Tumbling as Moneyview IPO Draws Mixed Demand
India's insurance regulator has proposed a sweeping reset of insurtech economics, including commission caps, tighter expense limits and restrictions on bundled lending-linked insurance, triggering a sharp sell-off in listed platforms. The market reaction was immediate, with PB Fintech and Turtlemint hit hard, even as Moneyview's IPO opened to a modest first-day subscription led by retail and non-institutional investors.
PB Fintech, Turtlemint Extend Rout as IRDAI's Proposed Commission Caps Shake Insurtech Stocks
Shares of PB Fintech and Turtlemint came under heavy pressure for a second straight session after the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India proposed product- and channel-specific commission ceilings for insurance distributors. The move has raised fresh concerns over revenue growth, customer acquisition economics and the long-term business models of India's online insurance brokers.
Pine Labs Turns the Corner as Payments Pioneer Builds an AI-Driven Fintech Stack
Pine Labs has evolved from a point-of-sale hardware provider into a broad fintech platform spanning checkout, consumer finance, gift cards, issuing and banking infrastructure, with more than 11.5 lakh merchants across India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East by Q1 FY27. After years of heavy expansion and losses, the company posted its first full-year consolidated profit in FY26, though its latest quarterly results show the turnaround remains sensitive to business mix and continued investment.
Insurtech Rout Wipes $3.6 Billion Off India's New-Age Tech Stocks as Commission Cap Fears Jolt Investors
India's listed new-age technology companies lost a combined $3.6 billion in market value this week as a steep sell-off in insurtech names, led by PB Fintech and Turtlemint, overshadowed gains in select SaaS, mobility and logistics counters. The decline came as investors weighed the likely impact of the insurance regulator's proposed commission caps, even as IPO activity remained active with Moneyview, AceVector and Spinny advancing public market plans.
RBI Sets H2 FY27 WMA Limit at Rs 50,000 Crore to Back Government Cash Flow
The Reserve Bank of India has fixed the Ways and Means Advances limit for the second half of 2026-27 at Rs 50,000 crore, giving the central government a short-term financing backstop to manage temporary mismatches between receipts and payments. The RBI said it may trigger fresh market borrowing if the government uses 75 per cent of the limit, while retaining the flexibility to revise the ceiling if circumstances change.
RBI Bulletin Says India's Economy Is Shielding Financial and External Sectors From Global Turbulence
India's financial and external sectors continue to benefit from a resilient domestic economy, even as geopolitical tensions, weather disruptions and firmer global bond yields weigh on the outlook, the Reserve Bank of India said in its latest bulletin. The central bank's assessment pointed to strong GDP growth, healthy foreign exchange reserves, steady credit momentum and moderate current account pressures, while warning that rising crude oil prices and food inflation could complicate the inflation path ahead.
RBI Pulls Back Export Repatriation Relaxation, Tightens Deadline to 9 Months
The Reserve Bank of India has withdrawn a planned easing of export earnings repatriation rules before it could take effect, cutting the deadline for exporters to bring home foreign exchange from 15 months to 9 months. The move is expected to speed up dollar inflows, bolster domestic forex liquidity and offer support to the rupee at a time when the central bank has been actively intervening in currency markets.