The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has refuted the fraudulent release or misuse of India's Aadhaar biometrics data after media reports claimed the release of Aadhaar data involving a private bank, its business correspondence agency and an e-sign agency; the UIDAI reports that an attempt was made to access data but internal security systems prevented the data's release; the incident exemplifies the strict security surrounding the use of Aadhaar data in India. Source
While Brazil's PIX has achieved great success, it is not alone. UPI has thrived in India, ushering millions into the digital economy.
Asia's alternative lending sector has been growing exponentially with a number of industry dynamics influencing the market; Forbes provides an overview of current market developments in China, India and Southeast Asia; growth in the three regions has been significantly influenced by a shift towards digital and a growing middle class increasingly using mobile technology; while marketplace lending has been growing in Asia a permeating challenge across all three regions is the lack of a deeply rooted credit underwriting system with robust data for lenders; China has approximately 2,200 P2P lenders with its P2P lending market valued at an estimated $100 billion however new regulations to handle fraud are likely to shrink the market; India is reporting about 30 P2P lenders in the country; India and Southeast Asia have a number of credible alternative lenders but seem to be growing cautiously in order to avoid the outbreaks of fraud experienced in China; Forbes provides a taxonomy of the various alternative lenders in Asia. Source
India has fast become one of the world's most interesting fintech markets; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a fireside chat focused on digital credit for the India population and how their biometric Aadhaar system plays a key role; a few key developments have helped the India population, the ease of acquiring a smartphone and the Aadhaar system; Aadhaar started with an investment by the India government eight years ago and today there is one billion Indians who have an Aadhaar number with key identifiable pieces of information; the government then began linking Aadhaar with the banking system and enlisted fintech firms to begin extending microloans to individuals and SMEs; Aadhaar helps to solve the biggest issue with lending, KYC, by using a retina scan or biometric signature to verify the borrower; the fireside chat also talked through how the lending process worked with Aadhaar and how it has helped to extend credit to a segment of the population that only a few years ago was unable to access capital. Source
The Indian online lending platform has closed a $10 million debt funding deal with investment from Kotak Mahindra Bank, Aditya Birla Financial Services and other financial institutions; follows other recent capital investments; firm plans to use the funds to support its loan book and expand to 700 cities; its platform originates loans ranging from Rs 1 lakh ($1,570) to Rs 40 lakh ($62,817) with interest rates of 16% to 24% and provides loan funds within three days. Source
The deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India recently said at an event that currently there are different regulations for various categories of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) which could lead to regulatory arbitrage, and that the central bank is moving in the direction of harmonizing some of the regulations, and they will get clarity on this sooner than later. Source
SRS Fin Tech Labs has announced the launch of a new marketplace lending platform in India called OxyLoans; firm seeks to originate $1 billion in loans by 2024; loans will be available in India, GCC and the UK; rates on loans will range from 12% to 36% with loans up to Rs 4 lakh (approximately $5,890). Source
Indian venture capitalist Unicorn India Ventures has invested in online lender SmartCoin; SmartCoin has developed a mobile lending app targeting Indian consumers with limited credit history; the platform offers unsecured loans of up to 50,000 rupees ($775). Source
Open is based in Bangalore and is looking to replicate a strategy which has been successful in other regions; their...
The Prime Minister of India has announced a ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in India in an effort to fight corruption; P2P platform i2iFunding says the ban will help P2P lenders by reducing cash-based lending in the country and requiring citizens to utilize digital finance solutions; earlier in 2016 the Reserve Bank of India said it would be issuing guidelines for P2P lenders; i2iFunding says the focus on cash-based corruption will now be the central bank's focus; in October, leading P2P lenders formed the Alternate Finance and P2P Lenders Association; founding members Monexo, Lend-Box, LoanMeet, i-lend and Faircent have been the most active. Source