RBI cracking down on P2P credit card transactions
Mumbai: After barring Visa from undertaking certain commercial business-to-business (B2B) credit card transactions, the Reserve Bank of India is now seen cracking down on peer-to-peer (P2P) credit card payments made via third-party service providers, sources told businessline.

As regulatory regime tightens in country, fintech has a long march
“The right of fintech (companies) to exist is in innovation. In doing so, they may sometimes take a more liberal interpretation of regulations in the grey zone,” says Alok Mittal, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Indifi Technologies. And aware that this may lead to accidents, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das had forewarned (at the Global Fintech Festival’ in Mumbai, September 20, 2022): “The fintech road ahead will witness ever-growing traffic, in addition to the large number of existing players who are already there. It is, therefore, imperative that every player on this road follows the traffic rules.” 

Brajesh Kumar Singh is new Executive Director, Indian Bank
Public sector Indian Bank on Sunday said the Central government has appointed Brajesh Kumar Singh as its Executive Director for a period of three years.

Banks agree to increase employees’ salary by 17%; IBA recommends Saturday as public holiday
Mumbai: The negotiating committee of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and Bank Officers’ Associations and workmen employees unions signed an agreement for a 17 per cent increase in salary revision, translating into a collective outgo of ₹12,589 crore for 12 public sector banks (PSBs) which are party to the 12th industry-wide bipartite wage settlement.

ATM ecosystem players looking to adapt UPI for making cash deposits
If UPI (Unified Payments Interface) can be used for cardless cash withdrawal at an ATM, can it not be adapted for making a cash deposit at a cash recyler machine (CRM)? This may be possible, going by the innovation that players in the ATM ecosystem are working on.

Six NBFCs must list in the next year, say experts
While Tata Sons’ initial public offer (IPO) has been in focus for the past week, but there are five other companies who also have to launch their offers in slightly-over one year. These include companies like Bajaj Housing Finance and five other shadow banks including  Piramal Capital and Housing Finance, Tata Capital Financial Services, HDB Financial Services, and Aditya Birla Finance that must list in a year on account of being featured in Reserve Bank of India’s list of ‘upper-layer’ non-banking financial companies.

IIFL Finance files compliance report with RBI: Sources
Non-banking finance company (NBFC), IIFL Finance, has filed a compliance report with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday after making some key systemic changes in its operating processes, said sources close to the development. The banking regulator on March 4 had barred the NBFC from offering gold loans due to norm violations.

Have achieved full compliance with RBI requirements: IIFL Fin's A K Purwar
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has highlighted several violations of norms while asking IIFL Finance to halt gold loan sanctions and disbursement. What steps will the board take to address these gaps, and how long will it take to rectify them?

Jio Payments to disrupt market with entry into soundbox segment
Jio Payments is set to enter what has been the domain of Paytm and PhonePe so far - the soundbox segment. Reckoned as a payments and audio verification device, Jio is all set to venture into the soundbox play across retail merchants.  The full-fledged launch is after 8-9 months of rigorous pilot launch of the soundbox across Reliance Retail stores. Initially, the device was tested across retail entities of the Reliance group in tier-2 cities and smaller metros such as Jaipur, Indore, and Lucknow. With this round of testing proving to be successful, Jio’s soundbox entered urban markets; albeit within the group’s retail outlets. 

Post-Paytm worries. Can fintechs overcome the ‘initial’ scare?
In early 2021, when Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO of Paytm or One97 Communication Limited, made it clear that his company would hit the market that year, it sparked a thousand IPO, or initial public offering, dreams in the fintech sector. 

India can be crypto curious with ETFs
Exchange traded funds or ETFs were introduced with the objective of providing exposure of a diverse range of assets to the average investor. Without an in-depth understanding of various asset classes, a potential investor would be able to own various assets in a cost effective way and can be traded like other assets. ETF prices are determined by net asset value (NAV) of all underlying assets.

New MF distributor portability norms to trigger competition, hit income
Mumbai: The new mutual fund distributor portability norms may leave distributors with no commission during the six months mandatory cooling-off period, leaving them high and dry, especially if investors trigger multiple switches. A spin-off effect of the new norms is, it will help large distributors poach businesses from smaller players by offering better services and ease of investment.

India's valuation premium justified, can sustain if not expand: Rahul Singh
How do you perceive the current positioning of the Indian market? Do you envision possibilities for further upside, considering valuations have run up?  

Mutual fund industry tracks 3.41 per cent growth, February sees highest inflow in equity funds
 

Why global stocks were a big miss for PPFAS MF’s Rajeev Thakkar
Rajeev Thakkar, 51, chief investment officer of PPFAS Mutual Fund (MF), oversees around ₹60,000 crore of investor assets. The firm’s flagship PPFAS Flexicap Fund is where the bulk of Thakkar’s MF investments is parked. Besides domestic Indian companies, the fund also invests in international stocks.

FPI inflows pick up in March, investors inject Rs 11,800 crore in equities so far
After keeping away from the Indian markets in February, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are back in the month of March. FPIs are turning steady buyers in India with net buying of equity worth Rs 11,823 crore up to March 8.

FPIs inject over ₹6,100 crore in equities in March on strong economic growth, market resilience
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) are turning steady buyers as they bought Indian equities worth ₹6,139 crore so far this month driven by strong economic growth, market resilience and decline in US bond yields. This came following a modest investment of ₹1,539 crore in February and massive outflow of ₹25,743 crore in January, data with the depositories snowed.

Max taps PE funds to sell up to 10% stake in Antara
Mumbai: Max India Ltd is in talks with private equity (PE) firms to sell 5-10% stake in its subsidiary Antara Assisted Care Services Ltd, two people aware of the development said.

Sovereign gold bonds help save $3.3 billion in India's gold import bill
In terms of value, with SGBs valued at $3.26 billion in FY24, it is expected to save 7-8 per cent of the country’s annual import bill for the precious yellow metal.