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

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🧐🏆 Posts of the Week

🇮🇳 India

📰 Market Updates

1. RuPay captured 18% credit card market share in October 2025, leveraging UPI payments platform.
2. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to develop larger banks through consultation with RBI.
3. Paytm reported Q2 FY2025 net profit of INR 21 cr ($2.4M) after INR 190 cr ($22M) gaming business impairment.
4. Polygon, a crypto/blockchain platform startup, and Anq, a fintech startup, explored developing Asset Reserve Certificate (ARC), a sovereign-backed digital token fully collateralised by Indian government securities.
5. State Bank of India reported 12.73% YoY credit growth to INR 44.2 lakh crore ($500bn) in Q2 FY26, with strong performance in retail, agriculture, and SME portfolios.
6. CSB Bank grew net profit by 16% to INR 160cr ($18M) in Q2, driven by higher interest income and planning retail, SME, and NRI segment expansion.
7. State Bank of India (SBI) planned to divest 10% stake in SBI Funds Management through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2026, targeting valuation of INR 1 lakh crore ($11bn).
8. Crif High Mark reported microfinance lending portfolio declined 16.5% to INR 3.45 lakh crore ($39bn) in Q2 2025.
9. Public sector banks in India reported a 9% YoY profit increase to INR 49,456 crore ($5.6bn) in Q2 FY26, with State Bank of India contributing 40% of total earnings.
10. MobiKwik reported Q2 FY26 financial results with revenue declining 7% YoY and losses increasing 8X to INR 28.6 crore ($3.3M).
11. Moneyview, a retail credit company, grew revenue 74% to INR 2,339 cr ($264M) and profits 40% to INR 240 cr ($32M) in FY25.
12. Groww, a digital investment and savings startup, raised INR 2,984.5cr ($336M) through Initial Public Offering (IPO) which was 17.6x oversubscribed.
13. Bajaj Financial Securities acquired a stake in Lemnisk, a customer data platform.
14. Junio Payments received in-principle authorisation from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to issue prepaid payment instruments targeting teenagers' financial education via digital wallet and UPI integration.

🚀 Product Launches

1. Kotak Securities launched Neome, an AI research tool and reduced API fees to support algorithmic trading.
2. Razorpay partnered with NPCI International Payments Limited to enable UPI payments for Indian travelers in Malaysia, facilitating direct merchant transactions in Malaysian Ringgit.
3. Delhivery launched a fintech subsidiary with INR 12 Cr ($1.4M) in initial financing to serve the logistics ecosystem.
4. Pay3 launched an Agentic Payments Platform enabling AI agents to autonomously execute stablecoin financial transactions across multiple blockchains.
5. Paytm launched a new AI-driven travel booking app covering flights, trains, buses, and metros with zero convenience fees and conversational interface.
6. AU Small Finance Bank launched specialised banking program for women with exclusive discounts, healthcare benefits, and preferential loan rates.
7. Stable Money, a fixed income savings startup, launched digital gold and silver investment products, expanding its wealth platform offerings.

📝 Regulatory Updates

1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported digital fraud increase since July and emphasised continuous cybercrime prevention strategies.
2. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) escalated efforts to prevent online investment fraud by demanding increased collaboration from social media platforms.
3. SEBI warned public about risks associated with digital gold investments.
4. ICAI submitted detailed recommendations for Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) Amendment Bill, 2025

💰 Financing Announcements

1. Lighthouse Canton, an asset management platform, raised $40M.
2. Kshema General Insurance, a micro insurance company for smallholder farmers, raised $20M.
3. Mufin Green Finance, an NBFC, raised INR 50 crore ($5.6M), targeting consumer finance and green energy initiatives.
4. Zynk, a stablecoin and blockchain based cross border payment infrastructure startup, raised $5M.

ACQUISITIONS:

1. PB Health acquired Amazon-backed digital health startup Fitterfly for its clinically validated disease management programs.
2. InCred Money acquired with Stocko, an online stock trading platform.

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🌏 Asia

📰 Market Updates

1. Thunes partnered with WeChat Pay in Hong Kong to enable real-time and affordable cross-border money transfers globally, targeting expatriate remittance market.
2. BRICS nations unveiled a decentralised cross-border payments platform to reduce dependence on U.S.-controlled SWIFT system.
3. Bank of Thailand launched cross-border QR payment linkage with China, enabling direct mobile payments.
4. Arta, a Singaporean wealth management startup, expanded its AI-powered SaaS platform globally, with Bank of Singapore and Hong Leong Bank adopting the technology for enhanced wealth management services.
5. State Bank of Pakistan reported 38% YoY growth in digital retail payment transactions, reaching 9.1 billion transactions.
6. Ant Digital unveiled AI solutions for financial institutions, demonstrating advanced capabilities in risk management, marketing, and customer experience.
7. WeBank, a Chinese digital bank, launched its international expansion strategy, highlighting AI-native banking capabilities and technology export initiatives.
8. HeyMax, a Singapore-based loyalty platform, launched in Hong Kong and partnered with Cathay, aiming to expand its regional rewards network.
9. XTransfer partnered with Bank SinoPac in Hong Kong to offer cross border products including global accounts, local currency accounts, and foreign exchange (FX) services.
10. Airwallex surpassed $1B in annual recurring revenue in Oct 2025
11. StraitsX partnered with KasikornBank to enable stablecoin QR payments between Singapore and Thailand, launching in Q2 2026.
12. Endowus partnered with Avanda Investment Management to broaden access to Singapore equity investment opportunities under MAS's Equity Market Development Program.
13. OCBC maintained net profit of $2B in Q3, with 9% QoQ growth.
14. Philippine banks increased profits 4.1% to $3.35B, with assets rising 7.7% to $476.9B due to stable deposits and strong liquidity in first half of 2025.
15. SEDANIA a Malayasian lending company disbursed MYR 2bn ($480M) through GoHalal Financing Program to support Malaysia's growing gig economy.
16. XTransfer, a B2B cross-border trade payment company, and OCBC, a Southeast Asian bank, partnered to provide cross-border trading companies with comprehensive, compliant, and efficient financial services and solutions.
17. Bizcap launched Line of Credit Ultra, offering Singapore SMEs up to SGD $300,000 with fast 24-hour approval and flexible repayment options.
18. Hang Seng Bank in Hong Kong launched Money Safe, a security feature allowing customers to lock funds requiring in-person branch verification for withdrawal.
19. Visa partnered with DealMe to launch NanuPay, enabling Vietnamese Visa credit cardholders to select installment plans while shopping in South Korea
20. Clear Junction launched multi-currency SWIFT service for remittance companies in LATAM, APAC, and EMEA regions, enabling faster cross-border payments across 11 currencies.
21. Hong Kong launched tokenisation pilot to enhance fintech leadership and global competitiveness.
22. Nium secured a payment institution license from Brazil's Central Bank, enabling direct local operations and improving cross-border transaction capabilities.
23. Singapore passed amendments allowing discretionary caning up to 12 strokes for scammers and money mules to combat online fraud.
24. dtcpay in Singapore received Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from Luxembourg's financial regulator, enabling services across 30 European Economic Area countries

💰 Financing Announcements

1. Paywatch, a Malaysian earned wage access startup, raised US$20M.

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