Harpreet Sandhu

Big milestone for Xflow! 🎉 We’ve received in-principle authorization from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border-Exports & Imports (PA-CB-E&I). In the world of payments, core licensing matters deeply, it’s not just a regulatory checkbox, it’s a marker of trust. Being authorized by the RBI means that we’re building with the right foundations, the right intent, and a long-term mindset. This moment has been a giant team effort, across legal, partnerships, risk, compliance, ops, engineering and more, and we wouldn’t have made it here without the unwavering support of our partners, advisors, and early believers. We’re excited about what this unlocks as we continue building modern cross-border payments infrastructure for Indian businesses, simple, compliant, and global by design. Let's make global money movement smarter. PS: We got covered in the news, I've included a link to the article in the comments section. #Payments #RBI #Fintech #CrossBorder #Compliance #License

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Over the last decade, I have watched India quietly undergo a digital revolution. What started with simple tools, including digital payments, Aadhaar, and Jan Dhan accounts, has become the foundation of a new India. Today, nearly every part of our lives is touched by this digital infrastructure. UPI alone powers almost half of the world’s real-time payments, and Aadhaar has given 𝟭.𝟰 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 a digital identity. The results have been transformative. The digital economy now makes up ~12% of India’s GDP. Fourteen million livelihoods are supported by it! What’s more, 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝟭𝟱𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬, with 𝟭𝟮𝟮 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘀. By 2030, the digital economy could make up 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗳𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲, surpassing even agriculture or manufacturing. At the heart of this shift is what I call the 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁, a financial Internet where money, credit, and investments move as easily as a message. This is still an idea taking shape but if we get this right, it could bring millions more into the financial system and unlock inclusive growth at scale, including those underserved or excluded, powered by 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 and 𝘁𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. India is also moving beyond adoption to leadership. With the India AI Mission and more than half of global capability centres based here, we are shaping the next generation of technologies. But the real challenge now isn’t just about technology. It’s about building a digital ecosystem that people trust, one that remains inclusive and sustainable as it grows. India has an extraordinary opportunity here. The question is: 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘵? #DigitalIndia #Innovation #FinTech

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📊 Biometric authentication for payments is having its moment but will it actually move the needle? (In India, probably not) 📊 Over the last 6 months, I’ve been tracking new payment auth methods. It's also a topic Kausthubh Adhikari & I have discussed to death - how will these methods actually work? There have been some updates over the last few weeks: ✅ Minkasu + Federal Bank: biometric auth for online pmts. (Recommend reading their patent, link in the deep dive) ✅ NPCI flagged biometric on UPI as a core innovation area What does payment auth look like today? Well, in India, RBI mandates 2FA for digital payments. That typically means 2 / 3 from the below: 1) Something you have: phone, OTP 2) Something you know: password/PIN 3) Something you are: fingerprint, face ID Banks verify this, but that is changing. Networks want to own more of the flow: 1️⃣ MC & Visa Flexi / One Credential: From 1 cred per account ➝ 1 cred per user per bank. Through this networks will essentially own the customer identity layer (solving fragmented user identity in banks) 2️⃣ From issuer authenticated ➝ 3rd party auth. Networks or 3rd parties (Minkasu) are stepping in to own this The whole point of biometric auth ( outlined in RBI's FY25 pmt vision) is that it moves away from OTP / PIN since those are still susceptible to phishing risk. It's tougher to fake "who you are." ❓How does biometric auth work today? ✅ Visa/MC passkey: Device APIs capture and store biometric creds. A key pair is generated. The private key is stored on device (unlocked by biometric). The public key is stored on the network. A txn triggers a challenge, signed by device pvt key, and verified by network using the public key. The issuer just gets a “yes/no." Auth is offloaded to the network ✅ Minkasu Pay: Public key is stored with Minkasu (versus network), which verifies and confirms to the bank ❓Biometric auth in India could be more challenging to execute 1) Issuer led: Banks store public keys and verify. Not easy 2) Third-party led: Using Minkasu for example. Faster, and probably the easiest way but needs friendly banks 3) Centralized via UIDAI: Here real time creds are captured and verified against stored UIDAI creds. But using government repositories has its own headaches (ex: CKYC) ❓But what’s the benefit of biometric auth? 👉 Online: Maybe lower fraud. In terms of UX, cards & UPI are fairly seamless 👉 Offline: In theory it speeds up queues. In practice, merchants are ditching expensive POS devices. Palm scanners feel like a step backward. For this to scale offline, biometric creds need to be stored centrally, like WeChat, Alipay, MC/ VISA pilots. But India doesn’t allow 3rd parties to store biometric data centrally. And I've talked about UIDAI challenges Visa and MC are betting big on biometrics and identity. But in India? Expect more pilots but it is still a very much a concept, not a revolution 🧠 Deep dive & orchestration flows in comments All views are personal

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𝗨𝗣𝗜 is the first payment system integrated into PayPal's platform 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗣𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. “Everywhere I go, India 🇮🇳 comes up.” — according to PayPal CEO Alex Chriss. PayPal’s focus will remain on connecting India to the world rather than competing in the domestic payments market, the CEO said. Speaking at the Global FinTech Festival in Mumbai, PayPal CEO Alex Chriss called India a critical market for the company’s international strategy, emphasizing its role in remittances, commerce, and technology. Chriss made it clear that PayPal’s focus isn’t on competing in India’s domestic payments space — but on connecting India to the world through cross-border payments. “We’d rather spend our time and energy creating those connections across the world and let incredible domestic products win the market here.” PayPal’s partnership with NPCI International to enable UPI-based cross-border payments is a strong signal of that intent — and a major step in making India a global FinTech exporter. “UPI is the first wallet that shows how important the India market is to us and to the entire world,” he said: https://lnkd.in/dn3WNkFC Chriss added that part of PayPal’s strength lies in its ability to facilitate global connectivity. “We established ourselves with the ability to do cross-border payments and connect the world together,” he said. “So I would rather have us focus on creating those connections across the world.” Chriss also hinted that PayPal Ventures is actively scouting for Indian startups after its early bet on Pine Labs, while outlining PayPal’s broader shift from payments to end-to-end commerce powered by AI and trust. “There’s going to be more disruption in the next 3–5 years than in the past 20 combined. I’d rather be the disruptor than the one being disrupted.” More about this, and other FinTech news updates, in my next newsletter! Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/dzj26JSZ Find this helpful? [ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ] Anything to add about this subject? [𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁] Nice story, Marcel. Next! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ] 

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NRIs’ remittances to India have grown at 10.3% CAGR in US-dollar terms since 2001. Only one other item, software services exports, has outpaced this, at ~15% CAGR over the same period. How big are remittances? They were about $125 bn in FY25, larger than India’s biggest merchandise export category, engineering goods (~$117 bn). In effect, India’s largest “export” is its people: they earn dollars abroad and remit them home. Growth in remittances from the Gulf has softened; oil-linked wages aren’t compounding at 10%+. That implies roughly one-third of the remittance basket is unlikely to sustain 10% growth. To keep overall remittances growing at historical rates, flows from services-driven hubs (the US, UK, Singapore, etc.) would have to rise at 12%+ in USD terms, a tall ask requiring comparable NRI income growth. Therefore, one of the largest and most supportive components of India’s balance of payments (BoP), remittances, may have reached a cyclical peak. If this coincides with a softening in services exports, the adjustment would likely require either a sharp import compression or a new export engine, neither of which is yet clearly in sight.

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🚀 Behind the Scenes of UPI: How It Handles ₹18.41 Trillion Transactions! India's UPI has revolutionised digital payments—an interoperable, public infrastructure enabling private innovation. It's simple, fast, and widely adopted. 🔹 How UPI Works UPI links virtual payment addresses (VPAs) like rahul@hdfc directly to bank accounts, eliminating the need for IFSC codes. But what happens behind the scenes when you send money? Let’s break it down: 1️⃣ Rahul (Sender) uses PhonePe to send ₹100 to Amit (Receiver). 2️⃣ He enters Amit’s UPI ID. 3️⃣ PhonePe encrypts the request and forwards it to its acquiring bank (SBI). 4️⃣ SBI sends it to NPCI, which validates Rahul’s account and fetches Amit’s bank details. 5️⃣ NPCI routes the request to Amit’s bank (ICICI) for validation. 6️⃣ ICICI confirms the details, and NPCI authorizes Rahul’s bank (HDFC) to debit ₹100. 7️⃣ HDFC checks balances, debits the amount, and confirms back to NPCI. 8️⃣ NPCI instructs ICICI to credit ₹100 to Amit’s account. 9️⃣ ICICI completes the credit and notifies NPCI. 🔟 NPCI ensures settlements between banks via RBI, completing the transaction. All of this happens in seconds! 💡 Why UPI Works So Well ✅ Banks: Hold funds & process transactions ✅ Payment Apps: Link bank accounts & facilitate transactions ✅ NPCI: The trusted switch ensuring seamless routing & security This blend of innovation and security has made UPI the backbone of India’s digital economy. 🌍 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 — 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 — 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭. https://lnkd.in/gAzNN6E3 What’s your take on UPI’s future? 🚀💰

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In FY25, digital frauds cost India ₹520 crore. The RBI’s latest update on two-factor authentication opened a new chapter for digital payments, and Razorpay wasted no time writing the first page. In just 10 days, they launched India’s first end-to-end Authentication Stack (ACS) in partnership with Yes Bank. And they didn’t stick to the bare minimum, they went above and beyond to build a full authentication suite: AI-powered fraud detection to block suspicious activity in real-time Smarter checkout experience showing EMI, rewards, and card controls on the checkout page itself, to reduce last-imute dropoffs. This is great move for banks, businesses, customers and the brand itsel. It strengthens their brand position, showcasing Razorpay as not just a fintech player, but a category shaper driving India’s next phase of digital adoption. As someone who has worked in tech-driven industries and now studies marketing strategy, I find this a remarkable example of how innovation meets regulation and how storytelling around trust, speed, and design can define brand leadership. 👉 The future of authentication isn’t about entering a code. It’s about being recognized securely and instantly.

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Fintech major PhonePe has reported a 40% year-on-year revenue growth, reaching ₹7,115 crore in FY25, driven by its expansion beyond payments into financial services, sources said. The Walmart-backed platform also turned free cash flow positive, generating ₹1,202 crore from operations, highlighting strong cash generation even as it continues investing in growth. PhonePe’s adjusted EBITDA (excluding ESOP costs) more than doubled to ₹1,477 crore, while adjusted profit after tax surged 220% to ₹630 crore. The company also posted its first-ever positive adjusted EBIT (excluding ESOP costs) of ₹117 crore. The performance reflects PhonePe’s strategy of diversifying into loans, stock broking, and merchant services, alongside its core payments business. These strong financials come ahead of PhonePe’s anticipated IPO, with the fintech expected to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) later this year. #PhonePe #Revenue #Growth #Profitability #FY25 #IPO #Fintech #StartupUpdates #Startupro

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UPI continues to be the most important piece of financial infrastructure in our country, and every change keeps making it better. National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI) has now announced higher transaction limits on UPI for key categories like capital markets, insurance, travel, government marketplaces, credit card repayments, collections, jewellery and even digital account funding. The new limits go up to ₹5 lakh per transaction with daily ceilings as high as ₹10 lakh in some cases, applicable for verified merchants. P2P limits remain unchanged. This is a big shift in how UPI will be used going forward. For the first time, high value spends like IPO investments, insurance premiums or even jewellery purchases can move seamlessly on UPI. What’s also interesting is the impact this will have on Credit on UPI. With larger transaction sizes now enabled, credit usage through UPI is bound to rise, further accelerating adoption of UPI-linked credit cards and RuPay credit on UPI. UPI started out solving for small everyday transactions. Today, it’s expanding to become the infrastructure for every kind of money movement - retail, online and now credit and high-ticket. A true testimony to how India is leading the world in building digital payment rails that are simple, safe and massively scalable. And we at Razorpay will continue doing the last mile work to bring this to every single business and consumer in the country.

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National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI)’s NACH 3.0 rollout this July transforms the backbone of recurring payments—salary credits, SIPs, EMIs—with real-time processing, PGP encryption, and instant dispute resolution . This isn’t just upgrade. It’s infrastructure redefining predictability and trust: 💰 Employees see same-day salary in bank accounts. 📈 Investors get SIPs executed reliably—even during volatile markets. 🚗 Borrowers can trust EMIs are debited safely and on time. At scale, precision + speed = user confidence. And user confidence powers retention, not just acquisition. Building fintech products atop this train track? Focus on capabilities like ping-based reminders, bad-debt mitigation tools, or real-time subscription switches. #NACH3 #DigitalPayments #FintechIndia #FinancialInfrastructure #RecurringPayments #RealTimeFinance #UserTrust #ProductInnovation #FutureOfPayments #NPCI National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI)

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India didn’t wake up with 20+ fintech unicorns by accident—it spent a decade laying digital rails: Aadhaar for identity, eKYC to compress onboarding, UPI for real-time payments, and Account Aggregator for consented data sharing at population scale. Onboarding time fell from days to minutes with eKYC—unlocking mass adoption. India ranks among the top globally for fintech scale, with billions of UPI transactions and significant payment value, a multi‑thousand startup base that surged from roughly ~2,100 in 2021 to ~10,200 by 2024 as capital and founders piled in. In 2025 ~24 fintech unicorns. This wasn’t “app magic”—it was data and AI on top of clean identity (Aadhar) and consent. When onboarding, underwriting, and risk signals are digital and unified, acquisition costs fall, fraud drops, and product velocity compounds. In the next phase, what will unlock more impact—AA‑powered credit data, real‑time risk scoring, or consent‑based personalization at scale? Share an example that’s working. Save this if you’re mapping 2025–26 fintech bets. #India #Fintech #Unicorns2025

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Weaver Services raises $170 million from Lightspeed, Premji Invest and Gaja Capital Housing finance platform Weaver Services has raised $170 million (around Rs 1,450 crore) in a round led by Lightspeed and Premji Invest with participation from Gaja Capital, as it looks to tap into the growing demand for the affordable housing segment with a focus on self-employed individuals. Moneycontrol was first to report about Lightspeed and Premji Invest leading Weaver Services' large-ticket fundraise, exceeding $140 million, on July 28. The investment will accelerate Weaver's asset acquisition, fund technology development, and expand reach across tier-2 and tier-3 cities where the affordable housing gap, as per the company, is the most acute. The company, which has already acquired Capital India Housing Finance for Rs 267 crore, will acquire more companies as it looks to scale its loan book and capture a larger share of the market. “We aim to make housing finance more accessible to the people of India by leveraging technology and placing customers at the centre of our focus thereby bringing in a new paradigm in the space,” said Satrajit Bhattacharya, Founder and Vice Chairman of Weaver Services.Satrajit Bhattacharya Bhattacharya is an industry veteran with three decades of experience at HDFC Ltd. As part of his relationship with the bank, its former chief Keki Mistry also has invested some money in the company, Moneycontrol had reported earlier. by Tushar Goenka https://lnkd.in/g-X4d644

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