CoinDCX, one of India's leading crypto exchanges, announced the introduction of Daily SIP, a new addition to its monthly SIP experience that lets users invest in crypto every day, starting at just Rs 100. According to the company, the update will give investors a tighter
Redmi Note 15 has become more expensive in India yet again, with Xiaomi revising the prices of both storage variants by Rs 2,000. The latest increase comes just weeks after an earlier price adjustment, making the phone significantly costlier than its launch price
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions. Apple reportedly bringing M6 chip and new colours to iMac later this year Apple is reportedly preparing a new 24-inch iMac with the M6 chip and new colours
Sonova launched its third hearing-aid platform utilising real-time AI on Monday, its latest effort to strengthen its position in a market that relies on rapid technology upgrades to shorten replacement cycles and attract first-time users. The Swiss company was the first one to roll
Drone deliveries are getting a full lift off and for Amazon Prime members the option to get their orders shipped faster is coming to more cities in the US. The company has confirmed that Prime Air deliveries will reach around 500 cities by the end of 2026
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Monday his party will introduce a bill in Parliament that seeks to ban children under 16 from using social media, proposing fines of up to 10% of a platform's global revenue for non-compliance
Apple shipments are expected to decline by around 2.1% in 2026, before returning to growth of around 2.8% in 2027, noted Counterpoint Research. However, it is likely to remain a comparatively resilient due to the sustained demand for the iPhone 17 series
The Indian government has ordered Google to shut down hundreds of Firebase accounts that have been linked to online and bank scams, affecting many people in the country. These scams have become a major issue in India over the last few years and most of it is linked to the rise of digital payments
NPCI ups vigil on third party apps as it tightens scrutiny on fintechs
As regulations tighten up around the digital payments ecosystem, scrutiny of the service providers on the popular Unified Payments Interface has gone up as well.
According to multiple people in the know, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has increased its scrutiny of third-party payment applications (TPAPs) run on the UPI platform. While the likes of PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm are regularly audited by NPCI, new entrants onto the UPI are required to go through heightened background verifications before they can go live.
“Risk evaluation on the applicants seeking a TPAP licence has gone up manifold, and some of it is attributed to very early-stage players without much investments and scale managing to get the access to the UPI ecosystem in the initial years,” said the founder of a fintech startup in the know.
Currently around 30 UPI TPAPs are licensed by NPCI.
It takes 15-18 months now to get a TPAP authorisation after applying, according to the people cited above. It used to be much shorter a year back.
A senior banker in the know said on an average, the process should get completed within six months, but it gets delayed in cases where there are additional queries or doubts.
The overall scrutiny on the sector has gone up, with the payment aggregator guidelines bringing in a standard licensing regime around payments.
Paytm, the third largest UPI app, had failed to secure the payment aggregator licence in one go. The Reserve Bank of India had returned the application of Paytm's subsidiary, Paytm Payment Services, to become a payment aggregator in 2022 citing non-adherence to foreign direct investment rules. It finally managed to get the approval in August 2025, after reapplying to the RBI.
“The government and the central bank want all such issues to be checked before providing access to the UPI ecosystem, almost along the lines of a payment aggregator licence,” said the founder of another Mumbai-based payments startup.
According to industry insiders ET spoke with, Mumbai-headquartered NPCI asks for all forms of details from the applicants. These include information about the investors and even the ultimate beneficial ownership, which means going all the way to the investors in the funds that have backed the applicant. The size of the company, credibility of the brand and its tech capabilities including data security systems are also looked into.
Initially it used to be a technical integration issue, back-end processing capabilities and such, but now it is also about sustainability of the business and credibility of the founders, the founder quoted above said.
Given that the UPI is a system where there is no direct revenue to be generated, NPCI wants participants who can invest for the long run, have a definite business plan and can launch new products on the platform as well.
“One of the criteria for the new players is that they have to go live with all the UPI product categories from the start; they cannot launch the core debit payment tool and go live with other products like wallets, UPI Circle, UPI Lite over a period of time,” said the first founder cited in the story.
While going live on the UPI is not an expensive proposition, given the resources and the team that needs to be deployed into the process, there is definitely a cost for the startups, and only those founders who need the service are ready to bear the charges.
“Also there is no set criteria for players to apply, so it involves a lot of back and forth through the application process, which increases timelines and increases cost from a business perspective as well,” said a senior fintech industry executive.
NPCI is also keen to attract TPAPs who can meaningfully invest and expand the UPI market pie, the executive said. Given the market share issue is still hanging around, NPCI wants the new entrants into the ecosystem to meaningfully transform the market and grab a sizable chunk of the volumes.
New UPI apps like Kiwi, Navi and Super.Money are entering the space with an ultimate aim of getting into quick credit. Also, credit-based UPI payments are revenue generating, thereby helping these businesses to achieve scale in a sustainable fashion.
All this comes at a time when the UPI has almost become the de-facto payment mode in the country. The payment system touched 20 billion transactions in September this year. PhonePe continues to be the largest UPI app with around 9 billion transactions, followed by Google Pay at 6.8 billion. Paytm processes more than a billion transactions per month, while Navi is around the 500 million range.
Source: EconomicTimes
Related Posts: paytm,Unified Payments Interface,NPCI,Paytm,PhonePe,Google Pay,digital payments,UPI ecosystem
India's semiconductor market is projected to reach USD 155 billion by CY31, implying a (CAGR) of 20 per cent and taking the country's share of global to roughly 9 per cent by 2031, according to a report by . The report said India's semiconductor opportunity is being supported by a combination of
12 hours ago
![Washington DC [US], August 23 (ANI): Dr Dre, the legendary hip-hop producer and performer, sees AI as another tool in the music-tech toolbox akin to](http://newsorbit360.com/files/news/en/imgs/its-a-new-tool-for-creativity.jpg?height=520)
Washington DC [US], August 23 (ANI): Dr Dre, the legendary hip-hop producer and performer, sees AI as another tool in the music-tech toolbox akin to synthesisers and asserted that only people "who have trouble creating" are afraid of AI, reported Variety.Washington DC [US], August 23 (ANI): Dr Dre
15 hours ago
Vine is back? Divine app revives six-second videos, bans AI content Vine is making a comeback through Divine, a new six-second video app backed by Jack Dorsey that bans AI content and brings back old Vine videos. Published on: Aug 23, 2026, 22:41:11 IST By Durva More Prefer HTon Google Share via
15 hours ago
The story so far: The head of Flock, a surveillance camera maker-operator that works with a range of clients in the U.S., issued an apology this month after the Washington Post reported that multiple law enforcement officers had abused his product network
1 days ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions. Fujifilm X-T30 III review: The specs are familiar, but the shooting experience is hard to ignore The Fujifilm X-T30 III is a tiny
1 days ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions. I tracked my sleep with these smartwatches to see which ones make sleep tracking useful I tested smartwatches with sleep tracking to see how useful their sleep insights are for
1 days ago
firms have become “somewhat marginal” in the artificial intelligence investment cycle given the scale of capital required, and large enterprises should increasingly fund AI companies alongside traditional investors, managing director said on Saturday
1 days ago
Amid growing competition from Anthropic and Chinese AI models, OpenAI said it is cutting the prices of its frontier GPT-5.6 Sol model for developers by more than 20% for the next three months. The price cuts are effective on OpenAI's application programming interface, or API
1 days ago
Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday indicated that Apple could broaden its manufacturing operations in India beyond iPhones, potentially adding products such as MacBooks and iPads. Speaking at the launch of the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS)
1 days ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions. Best 32-inch smart TVs in India 2026: Top picks across budgets for sharper viewing, smart features and entertainment Explore 32-inch smart TVs with Full HD and QLED options
2 days ago
Nvidia has made a minority investment in privately held to develop infrastructure to power AI across the U.S., the companies said on Friday. The investment will help Cloverleaf develop sites for the data centers, while Nvidia will support infrastructure buildouts for AI computing
2 days ago
Yuval Noah Harari on the economic and political perils of AI Humanity must not entrust its lot to clever machines, the bestselling historian warns Updated on: Aug 22, 2026, 14:21:37 IST The Economist Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link YUVAL NOAH HARARI describes himself as a historian who
2 days ago
Anthropic plans to let enterprise customers exercise greater control over their data when using its advanced AI models, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, marking a shift in the Claude chatbot maker’s data retention policy
2 days ago
Asset manager suffered a last month in which hackers stole some personal information, according to a letter on Friday. The New York-based firm was among dozens of prominent U.S. and other businesses that were recently targeted by ransom-seeking hackers who use phone calls to compromise their
2 days ago
Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal has revealed a major design update for Temple, the wearable technology project he has been developing, saying the latest version is now less than half the size of the device previously shown. According to Goyal
2 days ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions. Best Tech Rakhi gifts under ₹1,000: 5 gadgets your brother or sister will actually use Whether your sibling is a fitness enthusiast or someone who's always on their phone
2 days ago
, a startup building data centers in space, said on Friday it had raised $250 million at a $2.3 billion valuation, as it looks to expand AI infrastructure through . SpaceX's blockbuster IPO has rekindled investor interest in the space industry
2 days ago
The new Apple iPhone range is expected to arrive in September, with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max among the key models revealed. The new lineup is also rumoured to include Apple’s first foldable iPhone. However, for customers seeking a traditional flagship smartphone
2 days ago
As Apple gears up for its major September iPhone event, the company is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and an all-new foldable iPhone. The iPhone 18 Pro models are tipped to feature a faster A20 Pro chipset, larger batteries and upgraded cameras. However
2 days ago
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE launch on August 27? Here’s what the new Galaxy event could reveal Samsung launched the Galaxy S26 series globally back in February this year. Updated on: Aug 21, 2026, 17:09:08 IST Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link You may be interested in 32% OFF Samsung Galaxy S26
2 days ago
As companies deploy AI across more users and workloads, Snowflake says attention is shifting to token costs, model choice, spending controls and returns. As AI moves from pilots to production, Indian enterprises are beginning to ask a familiar question: “Kitna deti hai?” Only this time
2 days ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions. Everyday cooking can mean more than reheating when these convection ovens bring several cooking methods together Capacity, cooking modes and preset menus vary across these convection
2 days ago
![New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): The next phase of enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) will be less about deploying the latest models and more about](http://newsorbit360.com/files/news/en/imgs/next-phase-of-enterprise-ai-not-about-deploying-models.png?height=520)
New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): The next phase of enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) will be less about deploying the latest models and more about managing their continuous upgrades, costs and performance, according to a report by Straive
3 days ago
![New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): India's key strength in artificial intelligence lies in the applications layer, while the country is simultaneously](http://newsorbit360.com/files/news/en/imgs/indias-ai-strength-lies-in-applications.jpg?height=520)
New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): India's key strength in artificial intelligence lies in the applications layer, while the country is simultaneously building capabilities in data centres and other digital infrastructure, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in an interview with Morgan Stanley
3 days ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions. Built for modern luxury kitchens, these side-by-side fridges make room for more without losing style Whether you buy in bulk or simply need better organisation
4 days ago
Google has a back-to-college gift! Get 1 year of free 400GB storage, better learning tools and higher Gemini limits Google is expanding its student perks with discounted premium services and new ways to research, revise and learn through Gemini and Search. Updated on: Aug 20, 2026
4 days ago
The first healthcare touchpoint for more than half of India’s population are the frontline workers such as ASHA and Anganwadi workers. Strengthening their confidence with AI-enabled tools on their hand-held devices, will significantly improve the quality and reach of primary healthcare in the
4 days ago
