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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
The proposed payments service has languished in regulatory and legal limbo. This is the story of why.
Editor's note: “Two-plus years of beta is unheard of. Either allow them or kill them, what is the point of keeping them in limbo for so long? Only infrastructure projects can last that long, like a bridge getting built forever. But here you are talking about technology.” This, from a senior banker, sums up the state of WhatsApp Payments in India. When, in February 2018, the world’s most popular messaging app announced the beta launch of a payments service built on the Unified Payments Interface—the National Payments Corporation of India’s game-changing digital payments platform—little did it know that it was in for a “never-ending begging for the regulator’s blessings.” Facebook-owned WhatsApp was quickly cleared for trials of up to 1 million users, but almost immediately, it ran into concerns over data privacy. At the time, the government was pushing hard on a “data localization” narrative, mandating financial services companies in particular to store all data of Indian users within the country. In the two-and-a-half years since, WhatsApp has been caught in a web that refuses to untangle. It has issued many an …
The proposed payments service has languished in regulatory and legal limbo. This is the story of why.
Editor's note: “Two-plus years of beta is unheard of. Either allow them or kill them, what is the point of keeping them in limbo for so long? Only infrastructure projects can last that long, like a bridge getting built forever. But here you are talking about technology.” This, from a senior banker, sums up the state of WhatsApp Payments in India. When, in February 2018, the world’s most popular messaging app announced the beta launch of a payments service built on the Unified Payments Interface—the National Payments Corporation of India’s game-changing digital payments platform—little did it know that it was in for a “never-ending begging for the regulator’s blessings.” Facebook-owned WhatsApp was quickly cleared for trials of up to 1 million users, but almost immediately, it ran into concerns over data privacy. At the time, the government was pushing hard on a “data localization” narrative, mandating financial services companies in particular to store all data of Indian users within the country. In the two-and-a-half years since, WhatsApp has been caught in a web that refuses to untangle. It has issued many an …
The Rs 250 SIP was launched last year by the former SEBI chairperson with one clear goal: financial inclusion. More than a year later, the much-hyped scheme doesn’t seem to have caught on with MF investors.
The fintech’s financial services business has done reasonably well in Q4 FY26. But upping its lending game without the NBFC tag will be a tall task.
The RBI’s unusually harsh order raises deeper questions about management credibility—and whether investors should take assurances at face value.
The Rs 250 SIP was launched last year by the former SEBI chairperson with one clear goal: financial inclusion. More than a year later, the much-hyped scheme doesn’t seem to have caught on with MF investors.
The fintech’s financial services business has done reasonably well in Q4 FY26. But upping its lending game without the NBFC tag will be a tall task.
The RBI’s unusually harsh order raises deeper questions about management credibility—and whether investors should take assurances at face value.
