India Observers

ZestMoney is a company in Bengaluru that gives loans to people, especially those who don't have credit cards or other ways to borrow money.  Recently, they said they will stop working by the end of this month. Now, two other companies, Aditya Birla Finance, and DMI Finance, are thinking about buying ZestMoney . These companies, Aditya Birla Finance and DMI Finance, have worked with ZestMoney before. They are interested in ZestMoney's technology and the loans it has given to people, which are worth about ₹400 crore.  ZestMoney has many customers and a special technology that helps banks and other finance companies work together to give loans. This technology was made after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made new rules for digital lending in 2022. The talks about this deal are happening now, and they might reach an agreement soon. ZestMoney was started in 2015 by three people who know a lot about finance technology. It has grown big, with about 17 million users and acceptance i...

Aye Finance is a company that focuses on giving loans to small businesses and has successfully raised Rs 310 crore, and this funding was led by British International Investment, a UK-based financial institution. What Is Aye Finance? Now, what is Aye Finance? Founded in 2014 by Sanjay Sharma, Vikram Jetley, and Ashish Sharma, this company specializes in providing loans to very small businesses .  These businesses often find it hard to get loans from big banks, so Aye Finance helps them out. They offer different types of loans like mortgage, hypothecation, and term loans. Growth and Expansion Plans Well, small businesses form a big part of our economy, but they often struggle to get the financial support they need. Aye Finance is trying to fill this gap. They currently have 395 branches across 22 states and plan to expand even more with this new funding. The company has over 330,000 active customers and has given loans to 700,000 businesses so far. Despite this, they believe there's ...

Cryptocurrency platform CoinSwitch has announced the launch of a new brand called PeepalCo. PeepalCo will house CoinSwitch, the retail app for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. The new brand will also manage CoinSwitch PRO, the advanced trading platform. In addition, PeepalCo plans to expand into wealth management and cater to high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).  The restructuring will allow each business segment to operate independently and innovate while adhering to compliance and regulatory standards .  The founders of CoinSwitch, Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar Tiwari, will guide the initiatives of PeepalCo and each business segment will have its own professional management team. The goal of the restructuring is to unlock the full potential of the organization and allocate resources more effectively. PeepalCo aims to democratize wealth creation in India by providing accessible investment opportunities. Under the new structure, CoinSwitch will be led by Balaj...

Paytm, a popular mobile payments and financial services company in India, has announced that it will expand its credit distribution business. This means that Paytm will offer higher-value personal and merchant loans to customers who have a lower risk of defaulting on their payments and have a good credit history. But analysts have downgraded or cut their price targets for One 97 Communications Ltd., the parent company of Paytm, after the company announced plans to scale back small ticket loans and recalibrate its Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) business.  However, Paytm has already seen positive results from its loan distribution business, with many customers accepting and repaying their loans on time. The company believes that by expanding this business, it will be able to grow even further. Paytm will continue to work with large banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to offer these loans. It will also focus on maintaining a high-quality portfolio of loans and ensuring that ...

 India recently integrated UPI with Singapore’s PayNow. After getting more international demands, UPI may also launch in UAE, Mauritius, and Indonesia. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore’s PayNow were integrated last week to enable real-time funds transfer between citizens of both countries. UPI may also be connected with three more countries – UAE, Mauritius as well as Indonesia. Mehul Mistry, global head of strategy, digital financial services , and partnership at online payments startup Wibmo, told Mint that if Singapore launches rapid money transfers, countries like the UAE, Mauritius, and Indonesia are likely to follow suit. The expansion of India’s top-notch UPI digital payment infrastructure, which will make it simpler for Indian users to perform business abroad, is something to be proud of, he said. In 2019, financial services company PayU purchased Webmu. A cross-border person-to-person (P2P) payment system has been introduced with Singapore as the firs...