Fintech Weekly News Update – 1st August
Fintech – India
ICICI Bank, the country’s second-largest private sector lender, will from August 1 start charging a fee from payment aggregators (PAs) for handling Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions that these PAs facilitate on merchants’ platforms. The bank has sent letters to the PAs informing them of this decision. According to a source familiar with the development, the bank will charge PAs that maintain an escrow account with the bank 2 basis points (bps) per transaction, capped at ₹6. For PAs that do not have an escrow account with the bank, the charge will be 4 bps, capped at ₹10 per transaction.
Fintech firm Xflow has secured in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as an online payment aggregator for cross-border transactions, reported Business Standard. This authorization is applicable to both import and export payment flows.
When you automate B2B payments, it can streamline transactions, reduce costs, and scale with your growth. Several leading payment solutions, like Stripe B2B payments, are leading in the market, which assist organizations in replacing outdated methods with automated payment systems.
A project that over 70% of SMEs worldwide still face challenges in getting proper financial support. According to the World Bank, small and medium enterprises drive 50% of global employment, but their core issues have not been solved for many years. Most of these gaps are now filled by SME Fintech Integrations as they provide access to small business loans, payment options, and manage digital finances.
RuPay credit cards are changing India's financial landscape through features like UPI integration, competitive transaction fees, and a focus on the domestic market. These cards are helping drive digital payment adoption and supporting financial inclusion across India.
India’s digital payment space is set to experience a notable shift as ICICI Bank, one of the country’s leading private banks, prepares to implement fees on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions routed through Payment Aggregators (PAs). This change, effective from August 1, 2025, mirrors similar practices already established by Yes Bank and Axis Bank, signaling a growing trend among private lenders to recover rising backend costs.
Founded in 2023 by Riya Bhattacharya and Vivek Amarnani, Rio Money has quickly made strides within India’s dynamic digital payments landscape. The company focuses on enabling equated monthly instalments (EMIs) for credit purchases using QR codes through UPI, a capability powered by the co-branded Yes Bank–Rio RuPay Credit Card. This card, developed in partnership with Yes Bank and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), was launched in November 2024 and has since contributed to making credit more accessible via seamless digital transactions.
In a significant move that may reshape Odisha’s digital economy, the state government on Thursday announced the launch of Integrated Global Financial Technology Capability Hub (I-GFTCH) in the city. The government had signed an MoU with Singapore-based Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN) and Asian Institute of Digital Finance at National University of Singapore (NUS-AIDF) during the visit of the country’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam in January. The I-GFTCH will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on August 21 after the selection of the first batch of students.
Operating as one of India’s largest payment gateways by revenue and transaction volume, Razorpay’s inclusion in the prestigious 2025 edition of the World’s Top Fintech Companies list underscores its innovation, scale, and leadership in India’s rapidly evolving fintech landscape.
Fintech - Middle East & Africa
The collaboration marks a significant step for both companies. Mitsumi, renowned for its wide range of supply chain solutions for direct and indirect distribution of information technology and telecom products across 19 countries, will enhance its processing capabilities to support its rapid growth and entry into new markets.
Qlub's $30M Funding Round and the Rise of Fintech in the Middle East: A Strategic Play for Investors
Qlub, a Dubai-based fintech unicorn, raised $30M in funding, boosting its total to $72M, reflecting the UAE's emerging fintech ecosystem. - Its QR-based platform revolutionized restaurant operations, delivering 300% higher tips and 80% faster checkout for clients like Wagamama. - The UAE's strategic regulatory sandboxes and AI/blueprint initiatives create a testbed for innovation, attracting global investors like Shorooq Partners.
MoneyBadger and Peach Payments announced a partnership on July 28, 2025, enabling South African merchants to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, with instant conversion to local currency. This integration bridges crypto and fiat systems, boosting retail adoption. It signals fintech innovation across Africa.
Fintech - Southeast Asia
RAKBANK is entering the crypto scene, launching a brokerage service that allows customers to trade cryptocurrencies directly through their mobile banking app. This one-step approach makes trading easier and sets a new standard for traditional banks in the fast-moving fintech world. Let’s dive into what this means for fintech startups in Asia and how it could reshape banking and cryptocurrency relations.
Saudi Arabia has become the leading startup funding destination in the MENA region during the first half of 2025, securing US$1.34 billion in investments—a staggering 342 percent increase from the same period in 2024, according to a report by Wamda and Digital Digest. The Kingdom accounted for 64 percent of total MENA startup funding, signaling its growing dominance in the regional innovation and venture capital ecosystem. The fintech sector was the key growth engine, attracting US$969 million across 20 transactions. Construction tech and property tech followed, raising US$48 million and US$39 million, respectively. The surge in capital reflects a mix of government-driven initiatives, rising digital adoption, and expanding investor confidence in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions.
Lean Technologies has gained in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE. Lean is a financial infrastructure firm enabling payments and data for businesses. Founded in 2019, Lean reports supporting over 300 companies and has processed more than $2 billion in transaction volume through over one million connected accounts. The approval from the bank is said to be one of the first from the new Open Finance Framework. Lean’s regulated infrastructure aims to allow users to benefit from instant account-to-account payments, faster loan approvals, and smarter financial tools, all designed around transparency, convenience, and control.
Fintech - Around the World
Temenos, a global leader in banking technology, announced it has been named in CNBC’s list of the World’s Top Fintech Companies for 2025 in the Enterprise Fintech category. The prestigious annual ranking, developed in partnership with market research firm Statista, recognizes the most impactful fintech companies driving transformation across financial services.
Ireland has become a magnet for fintech innovation, thanks to a combination of government support, a skilled workforce, and access to the broader EU market. Strategic initiatives like the IFS2025 strategy, the Central Bank’s Innovation Hub, and the National Payments Strategy have created a regulatory and operational framework that encourages innovation and investment. Enterprise Ireland continues to play a pivotal role, investing over €90m in more than 200 fintech and financial services startups, helping them generate over €600m in R&D between 2018 and 2023. The €250m Seed & Venture Capital Scheme is also actively backing early-stage companies, while partnerships with academia and multinationals are fostering a collaborative ecosystem.
PayPal has unveiled a new functionality that allows merchants in the US to accept payments in more than 100 cryptocurrencies, aiming to enhance international transactions and increase the use of its stablecoin. The feature, referred to as Pay with Crypto, enables users to make payments using various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), Ripple (XRP), Binance Coin (BNB), Solana, and USD Coin (USDC), among others.
Bottomline Technologies sells business payments and digital banking services to banks, serving about one million companies that make $16 trillion in annual payments. CEO Craig Saks believes there is a massive opportunity for growth, citing a huge white space in the US business payments market. The company has 2,500 employees and operates in North America, the UK, and Europe. Saks thinks it's inevitable for one or two large-scale business payment networks to emerge in the US.
According to the SNS Insider report, the B2B Digital Payment Market was valued at USD 8.0 trillion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 27.8 trillion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 16.79% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2032. This growth is attributed to the widespread adoption of cloud-based solutions, increasing demand for seamless, secure, and real-time transactions, and the proliferation of cross-border e-commerce and supply chain digitization. Businesses are actively shifting away from legacy systems, opting for integrated digital platforms that offer faster settlements, enhanced transparency, and cost efficiency.
HTF MI just released the Global Third Party Payment Aggregator Market Study, a comprehensive analysis of the market that spans more than 143+ pages and describes the product and industry scope as well as the market prognosis and status for 2025-2032. The marketization process is being accelerated by the market study’s segmentation by important regions. The market is currently expanding its reach.
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1wFrom Bhubaneswar’s global fintech hub to crypto-friendly cafés in Cape Town, the world’s wallets are waking up. With UPI fees, SME AI lifts, and Razorpay rising, it’s clear: in fintech, speed isn’t a perk, it’s the price of survival.