Latest news with #AnirbanMukherjee
Economic Times
26-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
India's supplements wild west; Payments firms' SaaS play
Happy Monday! As over-the-counter health supplements are increasingly available online, concerns arise about their efficacy and regulation. This and more in the latest edition of ETtech's Morning Dispatch. Also in the letter: ■ Tepid IT job demand ■ Top Tata Electronics' hire■ Info Edge readies VC fund Pills, promotions and a dose of doubt: Influencers, VC money fuel India's booming supplements market From collagen powders and gut health liquids to magnesium tablets and hormone-balancing pills, wellness supplements have become lifestyle staples in post-pandemic India. However, as demand surges, so do questions around efficacy and oversight. Growing concern: Most supplements are sold directly to consumers via ecommerce websites and quick-commerce apps. They're available over the counter – no prescription, no pharmacist, and often, no evidence that they work. Multiple experts and industry executives told us this supplement boom is driven by post-Covid-19 health consciousness, amplified by influencer marketing, and backed by venture capital (VC). Tell me more: The sector attracted over $500 million in funding between 2020 and May 2025, according to data firm Venture Intelligence. Brands like Plix, Kapiva, Fast&Up, and The Good Bug are leaning into influencer-led marketing, with some partnering with doctors and wellness experts to add a veneer of credibility. Industry analysts say brands pay anywhere between 15-30% of their budgets on influencer marketing. What about regulation? In India, most supplements are regulated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, not the drug regulator. This means weaker scrutiny and lighter penalties. Online pay aggregators focus on anti-fraud tech to up revenues Payment companies are transforming their in-house fraud detection tools into software-as-a-service (SaaS) products for banks and fintechs, unlocking a new source of recurring revenue. Tell me more: Payment aggregators (PAs) like PayU, Razorpay, and PhonePe have developed fraud detection systems to safeguard their platforms. Now, they are pitching these tools to lenders, promising improved transaction rates and enhanced customer security. Quote, unquote: 'While we already work with large banks to address their payment fraud needs, many mid- and small-sized financial institutions need strong technology solutions to fight payment fraud. We are also targeting this segment, and the opportunity is significant,' said Anirban Mukherjee, chief executive officer, PayU. Zoom out: As competition intensifies and regulatory caps squeeze margins, payment firms are eyeing SaaS as a more stable, margin-friendly revenue stream beyond their core payment business. Sponsor ETtech Top 5 & Morning Dispatch! Why it matters: ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees. The opportunity: Reach a highly engaged audience of decision-makers. Boost your brand's visibility among the tech-savvy community. Custom sponsorship options to align with your brand's goals. What's next: Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@ to explore sponsorship opportunities. IT's Q1 headcount growth likely to stay flat despite improved macro Headcount growth in the IT sector is expected to remain flat, experts say, even as a pause on US President Donald Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs lifts some clouds of uncertainty. Driving the news: Hiring demand for new IT joinees continues to hover around 55,000, well below the brief peak of 80,000 seen earlier in 2025, according to staffing firm Xpheno. There are currently 60,000 open roles in the IT services segment. Job scenario: Roughly 88% of active demand is concentrated in the technology and engineering roles. The remaining 12% spans consulting, project management, business development, analysts, and other support functions, Xpheno added. AI-led hiring: With firms prioritising quality over volume, demand is shifting towards 'future-ready' specialised roles in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, cloud, and cybersecurity. These segments are reported to grow by 30-75%, depending on the area, according to another staffing firm, Teamlease. Quote, unquote: 'Although there is long-term optimism, companies remain cautious in the short term, reflecting a careful approach to hiring amid ongoing global uncertainties,' said Neeti Sharma, CEO, Teamlease Digital. Other Top Stories By Our Reporters Tatas rope in Intel veteran Tim McIntosh to steer Assam chip assembly plant: Tata Electronics has appointed Tim McIntosh as vice president and head of operations and manufacturing for Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test (TSAT), marking the latest leadership hire of an Intel veteran at the firm. Spacetech gets an opening as India seeks more eyes in the sky: While India currently has around 10–11 defence satellites operated by ISRO, "revisit times are long" and there's an urgent need for more satellites, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), DG of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), told us. Info Edge's shareholders clear Rs 1,000 crore VC fund play: The Noida-based firm will invest up to Rs 1,000 crore in Info Edge Ventures Fund III, paving the way for increased startup investments. Byju's app taken down from Google Play Store: The Byju's app has been removed from the Google Play Store due to payment disruptions for its services, while other apps remain available on the platform. Apple's India bet reflects global confidence: Rajeev Chandrasekhar | Apple's ongoing expansion of its iPhone manufacturing operations in India indicates increasing global confidence in the country's electronics manufacturing ecosystem, said former IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Global Pick We Are Reading ■ India's richest man can't crack e-commerce, even with Shein (Rest Of World) ■ Gemini in Chrome feels like a small step toward Google's agentic era (The Verge) ■ founder plots potential deal to buy failed company (FT) Updated On May 26, 2025, 07:11 AM IST
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Online pay aggregators focus on anti-fraud tech to up revenues
Large online merchant-focused payment aggregators (PAs) are building software platforms for fraud detection and deploying them in banks and other fintech companies . It comes at a time when revenue generation from core payments business has become tougher owing to severe competition and pricing regulations by the government. Payment companies are building software-as-a-service play for their enterprise clients and using it for recurring revenue generation. Major PAs such as PayU , Razorpay and PhonePe have built fraud detection tools to protect their customers and prevent frauds in their systems. Now they are pitching these tools to banks, offering them a higher degree of safety for their customers as well as better transaction success rates. A senior industry executive told ET that globally firms such as Visa and Mastercard offer advanced fraud detection services for card payments and that India payment companies are moving in this direction along with mobile-based payments. ETtech Live Events 'The regulator has licensed some 50 online Pas. Now all of them are chasing the large ecommerce merchants to grab a significant chunk of the payments value. But revenue generation has been a challenge, hence they are focusing on building value-added services,' said the executive, who did not wish to be identified. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Besides, given that almost every community bank, cooperative bank and mid-sized private sector lender now offers digital payment solutions such as debit cards and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to their customers, technology service providers for advanced fraud detection. 'There are 668 banks live on UPI, as per the NPCI's latest count. Smaller banks cannot build technology on their own and we are already doing this for our own payment processing, hence we can easily help them,' the founder of a digital payments startup said on condition of anonymity. Through the technology stack, payment companies can ensure transactions are being undertaken by the actual customer, un-natural payment behaviour is stopped and genuine beneficiaries actually get the payments. They can also offer merchant verification services, which ensures that genuine merchants process transactions. ETtech 'While we already work with large banks to address their payment fraud needs, there are many mid and small-sized financial institutions that need strong technology solutions to fight payment fraud. We are also targeting this segment and the opportunity is significant,' said Anirban Mukherjee, chief executive officer, PayU. PayU offers fraud detection services to banks through Wibmo, which it acquired in 2019. Walmart-backed PhonePe, which is a leader in UPI-based payments, is also doubling down on merchant payments. Fraud detection is also a major focus for the Bengaluru-based company now. It is targeting large enterprises as potential customers. PhonePe's platform offers real-time detection and also allows banks to build their own rule engines which can detect abnormal patterns around digital payments. PhonePe did not respond to ET's queries. Razorpay, another large payments processor, is also developing its own fraud detection tool and is in the process of pitching to banks. The payments major is working with two of India's top six card-issuing banks, along with several mid-sized banks and fintechs. Responding to ET's queries Arif Khan, Chief Innovation Officer, Razorpay said the company has built a white-labelled solution for banks. 'It is an authentication engine that enhances transaction success rates while ensuring robust security—helping businesses prevent fraud and offer a secured payment experience,' he added. India's digital payments ecosystem has grown exponentially over the past few years — in April alone, around 600 million card transactions and around 11 billion UPI-based transactions were reported — but so have the cases of fraud. This has necessitated software services which can help banks, fintechs and the entire ecosystem to stay ahead of attacks from cybercriminals. While these payment firms are securing banks and enterprises from payment frauds, there are other fintechs which are building fraud detection for the larger ecosystem. Players such as Bureau, Datasutram and Clari5, which recently got acquired by Perfios, also offer multiple fraud detection tools for digital lenders, wealth management platforms and banks to help in customer onboarding and know-your-customer verification.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PayU gains final nod for online payment aggregation in India
Prosus backed payments company PayU has received the final clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to function as an online payment aggregator (PA), reported The Economic Times. This development follows more than a year after the company received in-principle approval from the banking regulator. 'As we move forward, we remain dedicated to building a resilient, compliant, inclusive, and innovation-driven institution—one that serves merchants of all sizes,' a PayU spokesperson said. The Indian central bank ordered the firm to stop onboarding new merchants in 2022 and asked to reapply for the PA licence in 2023, as reported by ET. The company underwent a restructuring, which included the sale of its Global Payments Unit to Rapyd for $610m. Subsequently, PayU consolidated its operations in India and Southeast Asia, appointing Anirban Mukherjee as the CEO of PayU India. PayU's business extends beyond payment processing, encompassing credit services and investments in emerging companies. For the financial year 2024, PayU reported a revenue of $444m, up 11% from $399m in the prior year. The Indian market has been a key contributor to PayU's revenue, accounting for 46% of the total and 60% of the company's payment volume. Additionally, PayU became the first payment gateway in Colombia to integrate Google Pay into its services in December 2024. PayU allows businesses to make online & offline payments across more than 150 payment modes such as credit and debit cards, net banking, EMIs, BNPL, QR, UPI and wallets. "PayU gains final nod for online payment aggregation in India " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
PayU gets final nod from RBI to process online business payments
Merchant payment company PayU has secured the final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator (PA). The RBI granted the licence on May 13. This comes more than a year after the Prosus-backed firm received the in-principle approval from the banking regulator to operate this business. It had started onboarding new merchants since then. PayU is a subsidiary of Prosus , which is the Netherlands-listed fintech arm of South African technology investor Naspers. 'As we move forward, we remain dedicated to building a resilient, compliant, inclusive, and innovation-driven institution—one that serves merchants of all sizes,' said a PayU spokesperson. PayU joins the likes of BillDesk , CCAvenue, Razorpay and Cashfree, which have all received the Online-PA licence from the central bank over the last one year. Zaakpay, which is run by MobiKwik, was one of the last major players to get this licence in April, 2025. Digital payments major PayU, one of the earliest online payment companies in India, was asked by the central bank to stop onboarding new merchants in 2022. Then again in 2023, ET reported that PayU's application for the PA licence was returned, and it was asked to apply afresh. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories The company then went on a reorganisation spree, selling off its Global Payments Unit to Rapyd for $610 million. It consolidated its India and Southeast Asia business under PayU India and appointed Anirban Mukherjee as its chief executive officer. Beyond payments, PayU offers credit services and also actively invests in emerging companies. While the firm faced a slowdown in business through 2022-23, it restarted onboarding new merchants in 2024. In the financial year 2024, PayU reported overall revenue of $444 million, an 11% jump from $399 million in the previous financial year. India contributed 46% of its overall revenues and 60% of its total payments value in the last fiscal.
