AJINKYA KAWALE

Stories by AJINKYA KAWALE

AI, ML Skills Are In High Demand

AI, ML Skills Are In High Demand

Rediff.com   4 Oct 2024

India leads the pack: 4.1 per cent of job postings demand such skills.

Singapore court grants WazirX four-month moratorium

Singapore court grants WazirX four-month moratorium

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2024

A Singapore court on Thursday granted a four-month moratorium to Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, a period which the embattled firm will use to restructure its business without worrying about legal proceedings. A moratorium offers applicant temporary relief from legal proceedings. WazirX, India's biggest crypto exchange, suffered a major hacking attack in July this year losing close to $230 million.

Binance detaches self from liabilities after WazirX hack

Binance detaches self from liabilities after WazirX hack

Rediff.com   20 Sep 2024

Global cryptocurrency giant Binance has asserted that it never owned or controlled WazirX before or after the embattled Indian exchange was hacked in July that led to a security breach of more than $230 million. Binance added that there was no legal basis for the firm to be liable for claims made against the embattled crypto exchange. It refuted WazirX's claims that the global exchange owns the company, adding that it does not operate the platform.

Flipkart-backed super.money aims to be among top five on UPI leaderboard

Flipkart-backed super.money aims to be among top five on UPI leaderboard

Rediff.com   27 Aug 2024

Flipkart-backed fintech firm super.money is aiming to be among the top five players on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) leaderboard by the end of this year, a senior company executive has said. The company, which rolled out its beta version in June this year, has processed about 10 million transactions till date. "We have a target of 100 million transactions for the end of the year.

RBI releases draft rules on AePS to counter frauds on payments system

RBI releases draft rules on AePS to counter frauds on payments system

Rediff.com   1 Aug 2024

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday released draft guidelines for streamlining the onboarding and monitoring of Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) operators to counter frauds perpetuated through the ecosystem. Banks and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) are required to comply with these directions within three months from the date of issue of the guidelines.

Draft framework: RBI for more options to authenticate digital payments

Draft framework: RBI for more options to authenticate digital payments

Rediff.com   1 Aug 2024

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday issued a draft framework for alternative authentication mechanism for digital payments, wherein it has mandated that all digital payment transactions would have to be authenticated with an additional factor of authentication (AFA), except small value contactless card payments for up to Rs 5,000 at point of sale terminals, e-mandates for recurring transactions, and small value digital payments through offline mode, among others. Additionally, it has said that all digital payment transactions, other than card present transactions, have to ensure that one of the factors of authentication is dynamically created, i.e., the factor is generated after initiation of payment; is specific to the transaction; and cannot be reused.

WazirX Seeks FBI Help To Recover $230M

WazirX Seeks FBI Help To Recover $230M

Rediff.com   31 Jul 2024

WazirX lost about 45 per cent of its crypto assets to the security breach. People privy to the discussions say North Korea has been mentioned.

WazirX Breach: 'Recovering Stolen Crypto Is Hard'

WazirX Breach: 'Recovering Stolen Crypto Is Hard'

Rediff.com   22 Jul 2024

'A lot of them are converted to other tokens, and since crypto is dealt with internationally, it can go to any exchange in any country.'

'Banks must be prepared for providing UPI credit'

'Banks must be prepared for providing UPI credit'

Rediff.com   19 Jul 2024

'A credit line on UPI is going to make banks think about credit fundamentally as they digitise the credit process entirely.'

WazirX Loses $234 Million In Security Breach

WazirX Loses $234 Million In Security Breach

Rediff.com   19 Jul 2024

The swindled amount is nearly half of WazirX's total assets.

Major credit card issuers go live on Bharat Bill Payment Systems platform

Major credit card issuers go live on Bharat Bill Payment Systems platform

Rediff.com   15 Jul 2024

Major credit issuers, including the largest - HDFC Bank - have integrated their systems with the Bharat Bill Payment Systems (BBPS) for receiving credit card repayments via third-party applications.

Zomato withdraws NBFC application, says no plans to pursue lending

Zomato withdraws NBFC application, says no plans to pursue lending

Rediff.com   3 Jul 2024

Food and grocery delivery major Zomato has pulled the plug on its plan to enter the lending business. Zomato Financial Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zomato, has withdrawn its application for a non-banking financial company (NBFC) licence with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), stating that the company does not have plans to pursue lending in the future. "There is no material impact on the revenue/operations of the company and this disclosure is being made voluntarily," the Gurgaon-based company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Credit Card Payments Will Be Blocked On Apps

Credit Card Payments Will Be Blocked On Apps

Rediff.com   1 Jul 2024

Some of the fintechs that will get impacted include Cred, Paytm, Phonepe and Amazon Pay, among others.

Back to basics: Paytm's focus is payments and distribution

Back to basics: Paytm's focus is payments and distribution

Rediff.com   14 Jun 2024

Paytm, the country's leading fintech player which had to shut its payment bank business following regulatory action, is revisiting its business strategy including partnership with lenders. Also, the company's founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Vijay Shekhar Sharma has decided to oversee the day-to-day operations with all the major verticals reporting directly to him now. "The thing on top of everyone's agenda is getting the core businesses back on track," a person in the know said.

AI, Cloud, super app: Adani group to bet big on tech

AI, Cloud, super app: Adani group to bet big on tech

Rediff.com   5 Jun 2024

Coal-to-airports conglomerate Adani group is set to make a splash in the tech world. The group is considering the creation of customised artificial intelligence (AI) models for commercial prospects and consolidating digital services on a super app, according to people in the know. The Adani One app, part of its consumer-facing businesses, is reportedly in talks to expand into e-commerce and digital payments, according to a Financial Times report.

Valuations, access to capital spur fintechs' homecoming

Valuations, access to capital spur fintechs' homecoming

Rediff.com   4 Jun 2024

Why are financial-technology (fintech) players moving back to India, or doing the reverse-flipping?

BharatPe, PhonePe amicably settle trademark disputes over 'Pe' suffix

BharatPe, PhonePe amicably settle trademark disputes over 'Pe' suffix

Rediff.com   27 May 2024

Financial technology (fintech) firms PhonePe and BharatPe announced on Sunday that they have settled long-standing legal disputes regarding the use of the trademark with the suffix 'Pe' in their brand names. The settlement concludes five-year-long legal disputes across multiple courts. Both companies have decided to withdraw all opposition against each other in the Trade Marks Registry.

Crypto firms bank on fair play as Binance logs into FIU-IND

Crypto firms bank on fair play as Binance logs into FIU-IND

Rediff.com   20 May 2024

The regulatory gap between crypto firms registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-India) and unregistered offshore entities is expected to narrow, industry players said, after global crypto players Binance and KuCoin received approvals to register with India's anti-money laundering unit.

Who Will Taste Grapes Of Wrath In Nashik?

Who Will Taste Grapes Of Wrath In Nashik?

Rediff.com   19 May 2024

'During times of adversity, a brick becomes better than a stone. That is how I look at the election season.'

UPI credit line: NPCI may go easy on interchange fee

UPI credit line: NPCI may go easy on interchange fee

Rediff.com   8 May 2024

To increase the adoption of credit on United Payments Interface (UPI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is looking at an interchange fee for transactions lower than that for a credit-card transaction. Sources in the know said these charges could be 1-1.2 per cent. Fintech participants concur with the view that the interchange fee is expected to be lower than that for a credit-card transaction.