Fintech

Fintech platform Razorpay on Wednesday announced to acquire IZealiant Technologies, a leading fintech startup that provides payments technology solutions for banks, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of Pune-based IZealiant, the fifth by Razorpay to date, will strengthen its banking solutions arm that builds innovative tech solutions for banks, the company said in a statement.

Debt marketplace CredAvenue on Sunday announced that it is India's fastest fintech to join the unicorn club with a Series B fundraising round of $137 million. The fundraising round was led by New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners, B Capital Group, and Dragoneer, with participation from existing investors. As a result, the company's post-money valuation has grown to $1.3 billion.

Ashneer Grover, who quit fintech platform BharatPe he co-founded amid serious allegations of financial wrongdoings against him and his wife, has hit back at the Board of the company, saying he is "appalled at the personal nature of the BharatPe Board's statement, but not surprised".BharatPe said it reserves all rights to take further legal action against him and his family.

“I say with my head held high that today this company stands as a leader in the fintech world. Since the beginning of 2022, unfortunately, I’ve been embroiled in baseless and targeted attacks on me and my family by a few individuals who are ready not only to harm me and my reputation but also harm the reputation of the company, which they are ostensibly trying to protect,” Mr. Grover wrote in a letter to the board.

Currently employing around 150, Propelld plans to add another 100-150 employees over the next year across technology, business development and collections. The startup was founded in 2017 by IIT Madras trio of Bibhu Prasad Das, Victor Senapaty and Brijesh Samantaray, Propelld has tie-ups with over 550 educational institutes and is currently clocking an annual loan disbursal run rate of Rs 600 crore, it said in a statement.

Ashneer Grover, co-founder and managing director of the fintech startup BharatPe, has held talks with the investors to fully exit the company.  Ashneer’s ostensible exit comes on the back of controversies surrounding financial irregularities as well as a leaked audio clip in which Grover is allegedly abusing a Kotak Mahindra Bank employee.  Ashneer Grover is currently on a temporary leave following the audio leak.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Budget 2022-23 that the Reserve Bank of India will issue Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by in FY23. She said that this move “will give a big boost to digital economy (and this) currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system.” Hence, it is important to know what is this CBDC, why is this being hailed as a move towards fintech revolution and how is this different from private currencies such as cryptocurrencies. Here’s an explainer.

The country also attracted the most funding in 2020, with $1.50 billion raised across 118 deals. According to the 'APAC Fintech Funding Report' published by S&P Global Market Intelligence, venture capital investments in Asia-Pacific-based fintechs surged to a record high of $15.69 billion in 2021, more than double the prior year's figure of $5.87 billion.

Notably, the shares hit an all-time low of Rs 1,000 recently. On Friday, the shares settled 8.2 per cent up at Rs 1,116 per share. Brokerage house Macquarie in its latest report lowered its target price for the share to Rs 900 from Rs 1,200 and retained its 'underperform' rating.

Overall, Paytm IPO is the 4th largest fintech stock debut. "Paytm, which opened at an offer price of Rs 2,150 braved the markets on a tough day and its share price was also impacted. But Paytm came out stronger than how most other fintech companies fared during the same time," said Dr Ravi Singh, Research Head, Share India.