Hi fintech friends, I'm Osborne, investor in early stage startups.

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🧐🏆 Posts of the Week

🇮🇳 India

📰 Market Updates

1. JioBlackRock Asset Management, a joint venture between Jio Financial Services and BlackRock, received approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to operate as a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) and launch digital-first investment advisory services in India.
2. PhonePe, a digital payments company, sold a 5% stake in CE Info Systems, the parent company of MapmyIndia, for INR 486cr ($56.2M) reducing its holding to 13.7%.
3. PayNearby, a payments company, expects to add 500K retailers over 2 years aiming to become the third-largest UPI player in India with a focus on semi-urban and rural markets.
4. Jana Small Finance Bank (Jana SFB), a small finance bank, applied to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to transition into a universal bank.
5. Banks reached out to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggesting continuing the current co-lending model with Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs), where NBFCs originate loans and later assign part to banks, in response to RBI's draft guidelines on Co-lending Arrangements Directions, 2025.
6. Groww, a stock broker and wealth management startup, reported INR 1,819cr ($210M) in net profit, growing 3x YoY, and INR 4,056cr ($469M) revenue, growing 31% YoY in fiscal year 2024-25 ahead of its planned Initial Public Offering (IPO).
7. Bajaj Finserv, via it's Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) seller app, enabled disbursal of INR 1cr ($115K) in personal loans.
8. Credgenics, a debt resolution startup, reported revenue of INR 210cr ($24.3M) in FY25, up 35% YoY, with INR 25cr ($2.9M) profit before tax.
9. Tata Neu's HDFC Bank co-branded credit card captured 13%+ market share of new cards issued in Q3 FY25, reaching 2M+ cards in 2.5 years since launch in August 2022.

🚀 Product Launches

1. Jupiter partnered with CSB Bank to launch Edge+ CSB Bank RuPay Credit Card with UPI support and over INR 50,000 (USD 578) in annual rewards across e-commerce and travel categories.
2. Scapia partnered with Federal Bank to launch a RuPay credit card allowing customers to avail credit via both VISA and RuPay for online, offline, UPI and international transactions in a single statement.

📝 Regulatory Updates

1. SEBI (securities): Mandated verified Unified Payments Interface (UPI) IDs for all mutual fund investments, effective from June 2025.
2. RBI (central bank): Eased Know Your Customer (KYC) norms to simplify compliance and access to long-dormant accounts and unclaimed deposits, many untouched for over 10 years.

💰 Financing Announcements

1. FlexiLoans, an Indian fintech providing loans to MSMEs, raised INR 665cr ($77M).
2. PowerUp Money, a wealthtech spin-off from Uni Cards, raised INR 61cr ($7M).
3. Zype, a retail lending startup, raised INR 34cr ($4M) in debt funding.

ACQUISITION:

1. Mizuho Financial Group, a Japanese financial business, acquired KKR-backed Avendus Capital, an Indian investment bank, for INR 6,000cr ($700M).

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🌏 Asia

📰 Market Updates

1. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) clarified rules for Digital Token Service Providers (DTSPs), requiring licensing for those serving only overseas customers by 30 June 2025, but stated it will generally not grant such licenses.
2. Sumsub launched an AI-powered update to its Case Management system, streamlining financial crime investigations with tools like AI assistant Summy.
3. Visa partnered with multiple Vietnamese banks and payment platforms to launch Click to Pay, a secure online checkout solution.
4. Australian Payments Plus (AP+) partnered with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to enable eftpos and least-cost routing (LCR) for Click to Pay online debit card payments, expected to roll out in early 2026.
5. Deutsche Bank partnered with Ant International to facilitate real-time fund transfers and explore cross-border payment innovations using blockchain technology.
6. DBS and OCBC allowed Singaporeans aged 65+ to use CPF Life payouts to apply for credit cards from June 2025, following Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) guidance.
7. Fraud in Asia Pacific's fintech industry increased 116% YoY in Q1 2025 driven by AI-powered deepfakes and synthetic identity documents.
8. Indonesia's crypto industry faced regulatory changes as OJK assumed supervision, requiring firms to meet licensing standards, implement the Travel Rule, and prioritise compliance to remain competitive and credible.
9. Australia and Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop fintech ecosystems and facilitate bilateral trade and investment in financial services and technology sectors.
10. DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia's largest bank, exceeded S$129.2bn ($100bn) market capitalisation in June 2025, becoming the first Singapore-listed company to reach this milestone.
11. Funding Societies, a Southeast Asian SME finance startup, partnered with SME Bank, a Malaysian development financial institution, to expand access to financing for Malaysian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
12. Atome, a Southeast Asian fintech player, raised $75M in asset-backed financing from Lending Ark to accelerate financial inclusion and improve access to credit products in the Philippine

💰 Financing Announcements

1. Sleek, a Singaporean startup services business, raised $23M in Series B.

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