The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | Sept 2nd

By Puja Sharma

The Monday Roundup sets the scene for the week’s biggest news stories, industry deals, and upcoming events. For Prime subscribers only.

Automated and intelligent risk management engine

Mswipe, a FinTech company, has announced its participation as an operating unit for the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) of the NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) platform.

BBPS acts as a single connection point between customers and billers, providing an efficient and reliable bill presentation and payment system and grievance management system. To date, BBPS permits utility payments by consumers.

This new platform enables businesses to present invoices and collect payments directly from other businesses via their ERPs or Mswipe’s BBPS platform.

“We are thrilled to bring the Bharat BillPay system, a NBBL product, to merchants across the country. This integration is a significant step towards simplifying financial operations for small and medium businesses, giving them the tools they need to manage their receivables and payables more effectively. This development underscores Mswipe’s commitment to providing cutting-edge financial solutions tailored to the needs of Indian merchants,” said Ketan Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Mswipe.

Ant International has announced its strategic initiative with Dock, a payments and banking technology company in Latin America, to provide AI-driven credit technology solutions designed to empower local partners and advance financial inclusion in Brazil.

This collaboration aims to enhance the credit management capability and infrastructure efficiency for Dock’s clients, which include financial institutions, retailers, FinTech start-ups, etc. The shared vision is to make credit services more inclusive for market segments that are currently insufficiently served, such as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

In the initial phase of the collaboration, Ant International’s AI-driven credit tech solutions, including an automated and intelligent risk management engine, will be explored for integration into the Dock One platform. This initiative aims to strengthen Dock’s offerings in credit operations and infrastructure. By adopting these advanced solutions, clients are expected to optimize their credit decision processes, increase underwriting efficiency and reduce costs

Payment Passkey Service

Validus, a digital SME lending platform headquartered in Singapore, has announced the establishment of a debt facility of up to $50 million from HSBC under the ASEAN Growth Fund strategy and is aimed to support financial inclusion for MSMEs in Indonesia, addressing their challenges in accessing economic resources.

The facility will be deployed through Validus’ Indonesian subsidiary, Batumbu, which is currently the digital SME financing platform in Indonesia.

This debt facility will offer more accessible financing options, supporting Indonesian MSMEs in overcoming financial barriers and enhancing their role in driving the country’s economic development while also addressing the financing gap in Indonesia.

According to a press release from Indonesia’s Ministry for Economic Affairs, there are currently 64.2 million MSMEs that contribute 61% of Indonesia’s GDP and absorb 97% of the country’s total workforce. A World Bank report highlights that Indonesian MSMEs face major challenges in securing financing due to the stringent requirements imposed by banks.

Mastercard has announced the worldwide launch of its new Payment Passkey Service, which will make online shopping more secure and easier, at Global FinTech Fest in Mumbai, India.

Debuting first in India as a pilot with some of the nation’s payment players, including payment aggregators such as Juspay, Razorpay and PayU, online merchants such as bigbasket and banks such as Axis Bank, the service will give millions of consumers more control and peace of mind when checking out online.

Despite their rising popularity due to their ease of use, one-time passwords (OTPs) are increasingly vulnerable to online scams such as phishing, SIM swapping and message interception.

By replacing traditional passwords and OTPs, the Mastercard Payment Passkey Service makes transactions not only faster but also more secure against fraud and scams. With payment passkeys, consumers can say goodbye to the hassle of forgetting or accidentally sharing their passwords or OTPs.

The Mastercard Payment Passkey Service uses tokenization to secure a consumer’s payment details and biometric data, ensuring that no data is shared with third parties and is useless to fraudsters and scammers.

What is the Buzz

Visa unveiled a range of new payment products and solutions at the Global FinTech Fest 2024, aimed at driving digital payment adoption across India:

• HDFC Bank All-in-One POS Device: A compact payment device integrating PoS, QR scanning, and soundbox.
•  Paytm NFC Card Soundbox: A two-in-one device combining mobile QR payments with a card machine for offline merchants.
•  Neo for Merchants by Axis Bank and Visa: A comprehensive mobile app for omni-channel payment acceptance and business insights.
•  PayU Push Provisioning Powered by Visa: A platform facilitating seamless card token sharing between merchants and banks.
• IDFC First Bank Ashva Metal Credit Card: A premium credit card offering luxury rewards and low forex markup.
•  CRED In-App Card Payment with Tokenisation: An in-app payment feature using device tokenisation for enhanced security and convenience.
• Pine Labs Mini Device: A soundbox-enabled device supporting QR, NFC, and card payments, targeting Tier 3–6 cities.
•  HSBC Premier Signature Debit Card: A premium debit card with exclusive benefits for discerning customers.
•  Push Provisioning with AU Small Finance Bank and Juspay: A solution for seamless tokenisation of payment credentials via the issuer’s app.