Blog

This article explores the concepts of crowdfunding, tokenisation and REITs, focussing on their distinctive attributes and major advantages/disadvantages. Introduction Conventional fundraising and governance has undergone a sea change over the past many decades. Starting from 1960s, REITs gained prominence as the vehicle to provide access to an otherwise illiquid market – real estate. With time,Read more

This blog post examines the evolution of the AA Framework, and its role in the India Stack ecosystem. Our earlier blog was a primer to the NBFC account aggregator framework (“AA Framework”). In this one we take a closer look at the evolution of the AA Framework. And its role in the India Stack ecosystem.Read more

E-wallets may have been critical for India’s digital payments revolution but have since seen set-backs in the form of regulatory changes and competition from UPI. In this blog we take a closer look at the value proposition of e-wallets. 1. Introduction  E-wallets[1] a rare breed of financial product where the RBI has permitted non-banking entities to accept ‘deposits’-Read more

This piece explores the impact of India’s upcoming data protection law on payments businesses, with a focus on cross-selling and physical location of data storage. With India’s upcoming data protection on the horizon, businesses must take a close look at their existing data use practices. The Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 (PDPB) calls for structural, organisationalRead more

This article summarizes the various issues discussed in our webinar on digital payments during COVID-19 with Mr. Arpit Ratan, Co-founder of Signzy. The webinar is available on YouTube. ———————————————— Introduction: On 01 May 2020, Aparajita Srivastava and Arpit Gupta from Ikigai Law held a webinar on ‘Digital payments: Threats and opportunities during the pandemic’. Mr.Read more

Under stress due to cash-flow disruptions caused by the pandemic prompted lockdown, digital lenders are having to adapt their credit models to changing dynamics. Yet, in adversity emerges opportunity- due to social distancing becoming the ‘new normal’, digitized and contactless lending lifecycles will be vital to plugging demand in a credit-starved economy. Uday Somayajula, Co-founder,Read more

Most digital/IT related services have survived the negative economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, with a sharp drop in e-commerce and online travel and event booking transactions, the digital payments industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 lockdown in the last 2 months. UPI transactions decreased from 1.3 million in December 2019Read more

The Steering Committee on Fintech Related Issues (‘Committee’), set up by the Ministry of Finance, recently issued its report (‘Report’)[1], in which it takes stock of developments in the fintech space, globally and in India. It makes 45 recommendations to enable fintech, particularly in critical sectors of the economy, and to promote ‘ease of doingRead more

The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (“PSS Act”)[1] for the first time recognized payments as a different function from a bank’s core functions, such as lending, accepting deposits or managing monetary policy[2]. The Watal Committee Report[3] further explained this difference when it suggested in 2016 that payments must be regulated by a separate, independentRead more

Arnika Thakur’s ‘Fintech: Fast and Furious’ in the June edition of Fortune India is a compelling read if you are interested in the Indian fintech ecosystem. The article examines three broad themes: Banks and fintech entities working together: The article examines the sometimes tenuous relations fintech entities share with banks. We note that increasingly fintech companies manageRead more