Gaurav Arora

Travel in India is emerging as one of the key spending categories, driven by rising aspirations, increasing digital exposure, and growing demand for holistic travel experiences. As India’s largest pure-play credit card player, we have observed that travel constitutes an important transaction category for our cardholders. In line with this trend, we are pleased to launch the co-branded IndiGo SBI Card, in partnership with IndiGo. Thoughtfully designed to provide a premium and highly rewarding travel experience for today’s avid travellers, this credit card is available in two variants – IndiGo SBI Card and IndiGo SBI Card ELITE. Customers can enroll for this card via SBI Card SPRINT and at retail kiosks.   The IndiGo SBI Card is a significant addition to our robust co-branded credit card portfolio, reinforcing our mission to enhance our customer’s experiences through rewarding products.   #CustomerCentricity #Partnership #IndiGoSBICard 

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Will Perplexity and Aravind Srinivas finally win over India with the airtel deal? Here’s what the math says. They went live with a distribution deal with Airtel today, offering all of their 360 million customers 1 year of free Perplexity Pro worth $200 (₹17k). Firstly, not everyone is going to claim the offer. I suspect less than 10% will. Perplexity hopes that a year from now, they will see meaningful free to paid user conversion to justify this discount binge. Even if 50M claim the offer, at 1 query/day, it can cost Perplexity $100M-$500M/year. This is very conservative and actual costs could be more. But what exactly is Perplexity’s TAM via Airtel? I reckon it’s largely going to be corporate crowd who will use it for work. The general population is never going to pay for a 'Google alternative'. Urban Airtel customers who are in formal salaried roles comes to 24M (estimated by Perplexity). To get to $500M ARR, at least 10% of this (2.4M users) must convert to Pro. That’s an impossibly high number to achieve. Perplexity can go on a marketing drive in India to educate people about their complex feature set to increase their odds. Lastly, Airtel stands to gain very little, though this deal is exclusive to them (Jio has 500M users). While PPLX may be paying Airtel for distribution, you can reasonably expect Airtel to gain a few new customers (not a needle-moving number) who’d gain from this offer. Airtel’s cheapest prepaid annual plan is ~₹2k. Still a notional ₹15k benefit for a user who can throw away the SIM after a year. What could go wrong when the most expensive customer acquisition strategy meets the world’s most price-conscious market? Somewhere in SF, a Perplexity exec is about to learn what every Silicon Valley startup eventually discovers Indians love free trials almost as much as they hate paying for subscription.

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The Rise of UPI Credit Lines: Revolutionising Digital Payments and Expanding Credit Access for the Underserved. Credit lines offered through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) are being increasingly adopted by banks to facilitate small-value loans, indicating a significant transformation in the digital payments landscape. Fintech entrepreneurs report that banks are actively targeting New To Credit (NTC) clients via UPI applications such as PhonePe and Paytm. However, the pace of widespread adoption has not met expectations, despite the rising popularity of RuPay credit cards. Banks are currently seeking guidance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regarding UPI credit lines, with particular emphasis on interest-free periods and the protocols for credit reporting. As of September 2023, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has enabled pre-sanctioned credit lines; however, implementation has been delayed due to various technical challenges. The NPCI advocates for the alignment of credit lines with designated loan purposes, enabling consumers to access small loans while shopping online or at retail outlets. This initiative has the potential to enhance transaction volumes and user engagement. Nevertheless, financial institutions remain cautious about the associated risks, such as defaults and the challenges inherent in collecting small loan amounts. Firms like Zeta are playing a critical role by providing the requisite infrastructure to facilitate this transition. The overall outlook is optimistic, with projections indicating that UPI could process around $1 trillion in transactions by the year 2030. This trajectory paves the way for a dynamic future in digital finance for banking institutions, further supporting efforts to extend credit to lower-income segments of the economic pyramid. #UPI #creditonUPI

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If you've been having trouble paying your Zomato bills through Simpl lately, here's what happened: the RBI has ordered Simpl to stop all payment operations immediately. Unlike most major BNPL players who have NBFC licenses (either their own or partnering with one), Simpl was operating without one. Simpl positioned itself as a payment utility. A digital "khata" or dues ledger—rather than a traditional lender. RBI has simply interpreted it as if Simpl is running a payment systems with clearing and settlement functions then it should do so with a proper Certificate of Authorisation under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act. However, this time it wasn't a warning or a request to get licensed—it was an order to halt operations with immediate effect. This move reflects the RBI's broader push to eliminate regulatory grey areas in fintech. With the new Payment Aggregator Master Directions 2025, the message is clear: whether you're lending money or processing payments, proper licensing is non-negotiable. The regulatory landscape is tightening indeed, and compliance needs to be the foremost priority. #fintech #RBI

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s newly released final Co-Lending Directions, 2025 mark a pivotal moment for the credit ecosystem, especially for #NBFCs. For the first time, co-lending has been given a dedicated regulatory framework that extends beyond priority sector lending. This signals a deep recognition of the evolving role NBFCs play in India's financial architecture not merely as originators of #credit, but as equal partners in its delivery and risk management. What makes these guidelines truly progressive is their balance of ambition with accountability. The mandatory 10% loan retention ensures skin in the game, while enabling NBFCs to expand their reach through stronger institutional partnerships. The formalisation of #DefaultLossGuarantees (DLG), up to 5%, brings market realities into the regulatory fold without compromising prudential oversight. Add to this the emphasis on borrower-level asset classification, real-time data sharing, and a clear customer interface protocol, and you have a framework that promotes both scale and trust. For NBFCs, this clarity is not just operational it is strategic. It levels the playing field, encourages co-creation, and reinforces the regulator’s confidence in the sector’s maturity and governance. At Northern Arc Capital, we see this as a transformative shift. These directions empower us to collaborate with more intent, innovate with more freedom, and serve underserved borrowers with even greater confidence. This is the kind of regulation that doesn’t just monitor progress, it accelerates it. #RBI #CoLending #NBFC #FinancialInclusion #NorthernArc #CreditInnovation

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#RBI Grants In-Principle Approval to #Paytm Payments Services Ltd (#PPSL) as an #OnlinePaymentAggregator In a strategic development for #Paytm’s payments arm, the #ReserveBankOfIndia (#RBI) has granted in-principle authorisation to #PaytmPaymentsServicesLimited (#PPSL) to operate as an #OnlinePaymentAggregator (#PA) under the #PaymentAndSettlementSystemsAct, 2007, effective August 12, 2025. This approval allows #PPSL to continue its online #PA operations in adherence with RBI’s #PAPGGuidelines, initially issued on March 17, 2020, and updated on March 31, 2021. What This Means in Context Previously, #Paytm’s PA arm faced regulatory delays—barred from onboarding new online merchants until this approval—but allowed to continue services for existing clients. Rival firms—#PayU, #Easebuzz, #Razorpay, #Cashfree, #CCAvenue—have already secured PA licences or in-principle approvals, making the competitive landscape more intense. Key Implications & Strategic Considerations #OperationalStability – PPSL can legally expand its merchant network again. #ComplianceFocus – PPSL must complete audits and licensing formalities for the full PA licence. #CompetitiveDynamics – Paytm re-enters the online payment aggregation race at a crucial time. Key Question for Industry Leaders With this authorisation in place, will the #RBI now grant the final PA licence to #PPSL? And if so, how will #Paytm leverage this opportunity to regain its market share amid growing competition and scrutiny? #Fintech #DigitalPayments #RBIApproval #Paytm #PPSL #PaymentAggregator #RegulatoryUpdate #Compliance #IndiaPayments #FinTechLeadership #OnlinePayments #RiskManagement

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