The Weekly Wrap: all you need to know by Friday COB | July 8th

First launched in 2016, the UPI has now handled 99 billion transactions, recording 2200 every second in May. In a speech during Digital India Week, prime minister Narendra Modi boasted about the success of the instant payments network, UPI, claiming: “Everyone, including the World Bank, has appreciated it as the best platform.”

“Therefore, today digital products like UPI are the centre of attraction for developed countries of the world, or those countries which cannot invest in this type of technology. Our digital solutions have the reach, are secure and have democratic values,” he added.

UPI has been central to India’s efforts to use digital payments to boost financial inclusion. Modi says this has proved a huge success: “Once, I found that a beggar in Bihar was begging on a platform and he was taking money digitally.”

Deals of the week

• YuLife raises $120 million in its Series C funding round to accelerate global expansion
• Lucinity raises $17 million in a Series B funding round to fight financial crime
• UnDosTres raises $30 million to develop new financial products
• Finli raises $6 million to bring mobile payment management to service-based businesses
• Finalis closes $10.7 million in seed funding
• Griffin announced that it had raised $15.5 million in funding
• Crescent raises $5 million pre-seed round, launches platform to help companies improve cash management

Be on the lookout for

Fintech group Fiinu has announced its receipt of a UK banking licence from the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Group has also completed a reverse takeover, with its shares admitted for trading on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM segment at a valuation of approximately £53 million.