Sharat Chandra

India's lending revolution just hit an inflection point that changes everything. According to Inc42 Media's comprehensive "State of Indian Fintech Report 2025," we're witnessing the most dramatic transformation in credit infrastructure since banking began. The numbers aren't just impressive—they're reshaping how we think about financial access entirely. ↳ Stats that demand attention • Lending tech revenue set to explode from $19B to $133B by 2030—a staggering 48% CAGR • Personal loans doubled from 73M to 146M new loans in just three years • Credit card portfolios surged 110% while new card issuance grew only 22%—existing users are driving unprecedented credit utilization • AI implementation already delivering: Bajaj Finance saved ₹150 Cr annually through GenAI bots, mid-sized banks cut credit costs by 34-36% • Consumer loans now represent 54% of India's massive $2.2T loan book, marking a fundamental shift toward individual-led credit demand ↳ Three insights reshaping the industry >>The AI-First Lending Infrastructure is Here • Traditional credit scoring is being replaced by AI models analyzing non-traditional data • Automated underwriting reducing processing times from weeks to minutes • Real-time dynamic pricing adjusting interest rates based on risk assessment and market conditions >>Consumer Behavior is Driving Unprecedented Demand • Millennials and Gen Z (50% of population) prefer seamless, mobile-first lending experiences • Rising disposable incomes and aspirational spending creating new credit categories • 23M Indian households expected to earn 20+ lakh annually by 2030, expanding lifestyle loan markets >>Digital Infrastructure Creating Unfair Advantages • India Stack components (Aadhaar, UPI, eKYC) cutting onboarding costs by 90% • Account Aggregator framework enabling fintech-friendly regulatory environment • Alternative data from ecommerce and UPI transactions unlocking credit access for new-to-credit users ↳ My perspective after 20+ years 1/ The report highlights what I've been seeing firsthand—we're not just witnessing incremental improvement, we're seeing fundamental rewiring of how credit works. 2/ The fraud challenge is intensifying: As AI democratizes lending, sophisticated fraud vectors are emerging faster than traditional detection can handle 3/ Regulatory compliance complexity: With evolving digital lending guidelines, staying compliant while innovating requires unprecedented operational sophistication 4/ Data governance is the new competitive moat: Companies with centralized data systems & robust governance frameworks will dominate those operating with fragmented silos 5/ The biggest opportunity isn't AI adoption—it's building resilient, compliant, scalable infra that can adapt to regulatory changes What specific AI use cases are you seeing drive the most measurable ROI in your lending operations? And how are you balancing innovation speed with regulatory compliance in this rapidly evolving landscape?

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Weaver Services raises $170 million from Lightspeed, Premji Invest and Gaja Capital Housing finance platform Weaver Services has raised $170 million (around Rs 1,450 crore) in a round led by Lightspeed and Premji Invest with participation from Gaja Capital, as it looks to tap into the growing demand for the affordable housing segment with a focus on self-employed individuals. Moneycontrol was first to report about Lightspeed and Premji Invest leading Weaver Services' large-ticket fundraise, exceeding $140 million, on July 28. The investment will accelerate Weaver's asset acquisition, fund technology development, and expand reach across tier-2 and tier-3 cities where the affordable housing gap, as per the company, is the most acute. The company, which has already acquired Capital India Housing Finance for Rs 267 crore, will acquire more companies as it looks to scale its loan book and capture a larger share of the market. “We aim to make housing finance more accessible to the people of India by leveraging technology and placing customers at the centre of our focus thereby bringing in a new paradigm in the space,” said Satrajit Bhattacharya, Founder and Vice Chairman of Weaver Services.Satrajit Bhattacharya Bhattacharya is an industry veteran with three decades of experience at HDFC Ltd. As part of his relationship with the bank, its former chief Keki Mistry also has invested some money in the company, Moneycontrol had reported earlier. by Tushar Goenka https://lnkd.in/g-X4d644

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WhatsLoan-046 Bharat Series Sept 2025 BNPL as Convenience Commerce 1. Why RBI is Restricting BNPL RBI’s stance is shaped by risk, regulation, and consumer protection: • Unsecured Lending in Disguise: BNPL looks like a simple checkout option, but in reality it extends credit without the safeguards of a loan (no KYC, no credit bureau reporting in some cases). • Weak Oversight: Payment aggregators were running quasi-lending operations without NBFC licenses or RBI approval. • Systemic Risk: If left unchecked, millions of micro-loans can build up hidden credit exposure outside regulated lending channels. • Consumer Protection: Customers may not realize that delayed payments incur penalties, or that defaults impact their credit. Hence, RBI treats BNPL as lending rather than just a “convenience commerce and payment option.” 2. Why BNPL Can Feel Like “Convenience Commerce” (30–90 Days) • For short-term deferrals (15–90 days, single payment), BNPL resembles a checkout convenience, like “pay at delivery” or a free grace period. • These are usually zero-cost to customers, funded by merchant discount rates (MDR) or fees. • From a consumer’s perspective, it feels like commerce facilitation, not debt. But the catch: even this short-term exposure involves the BNPL company advancing money to merchants and carrying repayment risk, which is credit in regulatory terms. 3. When BNPL Becomes Like Credit Cards (Up to 12 Months) • When repayment is structured into EMIs (3–12 months), BNPL mirrors credit card EMI products. • RBI expects: • Credit bureau reporting • Interest/charges disclosure • Regulatory capital and provisioning (like banks/NBFCs) • This aligns BNPL with regulated revolving/term credit products. 4. Beyond 12 Months → Treated as Unsecured Lending • Anything beyond 12 months clearly ceases to be “short-term convenience.” • It becomes a personal loan in EMI disguise, needing: • NBFC license or partnership with a regulated lender • Standard loan agreements • Fair lending practices (APR disclosure, collections framework) 5. The Regulatory Logic • 0–90 days → Convenience commerce (but RBI still cautious, since money is advanced). • 3–12 months → Treated like credit cards/consumer durable loans, with EMI structure. • 12+ months → Pure unsecured lending, only permissible through NBFC/bank partnerships. In effect, RBI is saying: If it looks like credit, designed like credit, and carries repayment risk, it must be regulated as credit.

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🚀 Major Crypto Fundraising Events in August: What VCs Need to Know From Darshana Manikkuwadura (Dash) 🇬🇧 🇱🇰 August was a blockbuster month for crypto fundraising, with projects across infrastructure, DeFi, gaming, identity, and cross-chain rails pulling in over $1.3 billion collectively. The momentum highlights not only investor confidence but also a shift toward vertical specialization within Web3. Here are some standouts: 🔹 Verb Technology – Raised $558M, backed by heavyweights like Pantera, Kenetic, and Arrington Capital. This is the largest raise of the month, signaling massive confidence in AI + blockchain convergence. 🔹 Satsuma Technology – Secured $217.6M led by Pantera, XG Ventures, and others. A strong bet on developer infrastructure and scaling primitives. 🔹 Rail – Closed $200M with Ripple as the lead investor. Rail is building critical cross-border settlement infrastructure—Ripple’s involvement makes this a strategic move. 🔹 Story Protocol ($IP) – Raised $82M from Heritage Distilling and partners. Positioned at the intersection of IP rights and blockchain, it’s pioneering the “on-chain IP economy.” 🔹 IVIX – Landed $60M from Insight Partners and Citi Ventures. A compliance and identity-driven play that could become foundational for regulated markets. 🔹 1Kosmos – At $57M, backed by Forgepoint and GulaTech, it’s clear that decentralized identity remains a strong investment thesis. 🔹 Bit2Me – One of Europe’s leading exchanges secured $34.9M, with Tether stepping in as a strategic investor. Expect synergies around stablecoin adoption and fiat-crypto ramps. 🔹 Mantra ($OM) – Raised $20M via Inveniam. Focused on RWA tokenization and DeFi, showing that RWAs are continuing to attract serious institutional capital. 🔹 Sui Network ($SUI) – Brought in $20M from Mill City Ventures. Even in a competitive L1 space, Sui is doubling down on ecosystem growth. 🔹 OpenMind – Raised $20M from Pantera and Brevan Capital. A strong signal of confidence in AI x Web3 convergence. 🔹 OrangeX – Another $20M round with backing from Kryptos and SCI Ventures—focused on trading infrastructure and exchange growth. 🔹 Shrapnel ($SHRAP) – Closed $19.5M with Gala and Polychain Capital. Web3 gaming remains hot, with Shrapnel positioning itself as a AAA blockchain FPS. 🔹 Transak – Secured $16M from ConsenSys and others. As a fiat-crypto gateway provider, Transak’s role is critical for onboarding the next 100M users. 🔹 The Clearing Company – $15M raise backed by Haun Ventures, Ribbit, and Asymmetry. They’re building new clearing rails for digital assets. 🔹 Hemi Network ($HEMI) – Another $15M, backed by Tether, FTX Ventures, and Crypto.com Capital—focusing on scalability and chain efficiency. 🔹 SuperGaming – Raised $15M to expand gaming titles and on-chain integrations, backed by marquee gaming VCs. 💡 Takeaway for VCs: For founders, the lesson is clear: capital flows to projects solving real-world problems with scalable Web3-native models

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Excited to speak in an upcoming FIBAC 2025 panel on "Gen AI – From POCs to Scale" Financial institutions have rapidly moved Gen AI from pilots to production across credit, sales, operations, and HR. The question now is, can this drive the breakthrough productivity gains banking needs? I will be exploring this and challenges such as model bias, data governance, customer trust, and AI talent shortages. If you’re at FIBAC 2025, don’t miss the discussion tomorrow (26th August) from 11:55 a.m. – 12:55 p.m. #GenAI #FinancialServices #Banking #AI #Innovation #DigitalTransformation

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