Tag: fintech

Finance

HDFC Bank Inaugurates Tech & Digital Factory in Guwahati to Boost AI and Cybersecurity Talent

Swara Bodke

Written by Intern Swara Bodke || Team Allycaral

India, 2026: HDFC Bank, India’s leading private sector bank, has inaugurated its new Tech & Digital Factory in Guwahati, marking its first such facility in Assam and the fourth nationwide. The bank already operates similar Tech & Digital Factories in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Gurugram.
The new centre will serve as a hub for advanced technology development, innovation and talent incubation in Assam. It aims to strengthen talent pools in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital technologies and Cybersecurity, while building capabilities in Cloud, Data and core engineering tracks. The initiative is also expected to enhance digital product creation capabilities in the state.
The facility was inaugurated by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the presence of Mr. Kaizad Bharucha, Deputy Managing Director – HDFC Bank, Mr. Ramesh Lakshminarayan, Chief Information Officer – HDFC Bank, dignitaries from the Government of Assam, members from participating educational institutions, and officers of the bank.


The Tech & Digital Factory will generate career opportunities for skilled professionals in Assam, enabling them to contribute directly to next-generation technology development while remaining in their home state.
The initiative is part of Advantage Assam 2.0, under which HDFC Bank partnered with the Government of Assam. The collaboration focuses on enhancing academic knowledge with industry expertise through a structured skill-building curriculum tailored to the BFSI and fintech sectors.
Centred on campus-to-corporate competency, the programme aligns with job requirements in banking and fintech industries. The curriculum includes essential banking knowledge along with new-age IT domains.
The programme commenced in September 2025, and over 150 students are currently being trained under the cohort. Participants will receive industry-relevant knowledge and hands-on experience from senior HDFC Bank executives.
Students enrolled in the programme will also undergo internships with HDFC Bank for a duration of 2 to 4 months. This will allow them to apply academic and technological concepts in real-world corporate scenarios. Importantly, the course is offered at no additional cost to students.
Commenting on the development, Mr. Kaizad Bharucha, Deputy Managing Director, HDFC Bank, said that the Bank had signed an MoU with the Assam Government at Advantage Assam 2.0 in February 2025 and was pleased to establish the facility within a year, supported strongly by the state government. He added that the new centre would enable the rollout of innovative digital products and services while attracting engineering talent from Assam to contribute to next-generation banking technology.
HDFC Bank’s Tech & Digital Factory model continues to function as the nucleus of digital execution, with dedicated units focused on experience design, mobile and cloud engineering, APIs and orchestration, data and GenAI, and secure-by-design architecture.
HDFC Bank began its journey in Assam in 2004 with the launch of its first branch in Guwahati. Since then, the Bank has expanded to 138 branches and 248 ATMs across the state as of December 31, 2025. According to the State Level Banker’s Committee (SLBC) report, the Bank’s Credit-Deposit (CD) ratio in Assam stood at 85.78% as of the same date.

TechPulse

10 Years of PhonePe: A Decade of Building for Bharat

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

PhonePe recently marked a significant milestone, completing ten years in India’s fintech ecosystem and celebrating a decade of innovation, growth and impact. Since its inception, the company has played a pivotal role in transforming the way India transacts and manages money, steadily expanding financial access across urban and rural Bharat alike.

In 2025, PhonePe crossed a major milestone by surpassing 600 million registered users, reinforcing its position as a cornerstone of India’s digital economy. The year focused strongly on deepening trust and improving accessibility with the introduction of features such as UPI Circle, which enables delegated payments for trusted contacts, and PhonePe Protect, a robust security framework designed to safeguard users against fraudulent transactions.

Strengthening its support for merchants, PhonePe introduced Made-in-India solutions like the SmartSpeaker and SmartPOD, helping small and medium businesses embrace digital payments with ease. Through the Udyam Assist initiative, launched in partnership with SIDBI, PhonePe became one of the first institutions to enable digital-first integration for MSMEs, streamlining their access to formal credit and financial services.

For consumers, the platform expanded beyond payments by launching affordable protection products such as Home Insurance and Health Insurance, aimed at India’s “Missing Middle.” PhonePe also unlocked liquidity through innovative lending solutions, including Loan Against Mutual Funds, ensuring essential financial services are accessible to a wider population.

Reflecting on the journey, Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO of PhonePe, said that despite how far the company has come, the most exciting part is that the summit is still not in sight. He highlighted the passion of the teams behind PhonePe and noted that the journey continues to be meaningful and energising as the company builds for the future.

Rahul Chari, Founder and CTO, expressed pride in what PhonePe has built over the past decade, acknowledging the goodwill and support received from the industry and the wider ecosystem. He emphasised that building something people truly believe in is what turns an idea into real impact.

Over the years, PhonePe has consistently redefined the Indian fintech landscape through industry-first innovations. From Digital Gold and Mutual Funds to making Insurance and Stock Broking accessible to the masses, the platform has evolved into a comprehensive financial ecosystem. Key milestones include the PhonePe Business app for merchants, Merchant Lending, Credit Line on UPI, Cross-Border UPI, UPI Lite, and the 2024 launch of the Indus Appstore, Share.Market and secured lending platforms.

By relocating its domicile to India in 2022 and steadily expanding into credit and wealth management, PhonePe has moved beyond being a payments utility to becoming an integral part of India’s financial fabric, ensuring that access to protection, investment and credit continues to reach every citizen as it builds for Bharat.

Finance

HDFC Bank Group Concludes HDFC Tech Innovators 2025, Honours 10 Winning Startups

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

HDFC Bank Group successfully concluded the fourth edition of HDFC Tech Innovators 2025, marking another milestone in its commitment to strengthening India’s startup ecosystem. The event honoured ten winning startups across six sectors and awarded two special recognitions to emerging women founders. This year’s edition saw remarkable national participation, with over 1,600 startups applying from more than 290 cities across the country, reflecting the rapid growth and expanding reach of India’s innovation landscape.

HDFC Tech Innovators 2025 was organised jointly by HDFC Bank, HDFC Capital and HDFC AMC, with active support from HDFC Life, HDFC Ergo, HDFC Securities and HDB Financial Services. The initiative was conceived as a platform to recognise early-stage startups and enable meaningful collaboration between founders and HDFC Group companies. In previous editions, the programme has helped identify high-potential ventures such as QNu Labs, a pioneer in quantum-safe cybersecurity, in which HDFC Bank subsequently invested. The Group also supports young ventures through Parivartan, its CSR arm, by partnering with leading incubators across India.

Speaking at the event, Ashish Parthasarthy, Group Head of Branch Banking, Payments, Treasury, Liability Products, Marketing, Virtual Channels and Infrastructure at HDFC Bank, highlighted the Group’s ongoing commitment to fostering India’s next generation of corporations. He emphasised that the bank’s StartUp BuildUp programme offers one-of-a-kind solutions, from customised current accounts to health cover, commercial cards and regulatory support for FDI and ODI transactions, designed to empower startups from the very beginning of their journey.

Navneet Munot, MD & CEO of HDFC AMC, noted that innovation continues to reshape every aspect of human progress — spanning finance, healthcare, deep tech, space technology and frontier sciences. He reiterated that HDFC Bank Group sees itself as a long-term partner in India’s innovation journey. At HDFC AMC, the mission remains to channel the country’s entrepreneurial energy into wealth creation for millions of Indians. He described HDFC Tech Innovators as a celebration of the visionaries shaping the future.

Vipul Roongta, CEO of HDFC Capital, underscored how technology and innovation are transforming the built world and redefining every step of the value chain. He reaffirmed the company’s commitment to future-ready business models and emerging technology-led solutions that support India’s transformation in the years ahead.

This year, the initiative broadened its horizons by including Defence and Space Tech as a new sector, recognising the crucial role these domains play in nation-building. Two special awards were also introduced for women entrepreneurs, acknowledging their rising presence and impact within the country’s startup ecosystem.

The event also featured a panel discussion titled “Architects of India’s Startup Ecosystem,” which brought together leading voices from across government, industry and venture capital. Among the speakers were Sanjiv, Joint Secretary at DPIIT; Air Vice Marshal Dhananjay V. Khot (Retd.), Director–Strategy and Planning at IN-SPACe; Shashank Kumar, Founder and Managing Director of Razorpay; Gautam Mago, General Partner at A91 Partners; Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner of IvyCap Ventures; and Sunali Rohra, Senior Executive Vice President at HDFC Bank. Their perspectives added depth to the conversation on India’s evolving innovation landscape.

With its continued commitment to collaboration, investment and knowledge-sharing, the HDFC Bank Group reinforces its role as a key enabler for startups building India’s future. HDFC Tech Innovators 2025 stands as a testament to this vision, celebrating innovation, encouraging entrepreneurship and empowering the leaders of tomorrow.

Finance

RBI Launches Offline ‘Digi Rupee’: Money Transfers Now Possible Without Internet

allycaralgoa

In a major leap toward digital financial inclusion, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the launch of an offline feature for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), popularly known as the ‘Digi Rupee’.

The offline functionality allows users to transfer money without internet connectivity, a development aimed at empowering citizens in rural, remote, and low-connectivity areas across the country.

According to the RBI, this innovation will make digital payments more accessible, ensuring that even those without reliable network coverage can participate in India’s growing digital economy.

The offline Digi Rupee can be used for peer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, just like digital wallets, but backed directly by the central bank — making it secure, instant, and cost-efficient.

Experts believe that the move could significantly boost the adoption of digital transactions and support the government’s broader Digital India mission.

The initiative also underscores RBI’s ongoing efforts to enhance financial inclusion and build a resilient payment ecosystem that reaches every citizen, regardless of connectivity.

With this step, India joins a small group of countries exploring offline digital currency technology, marking another milestone in its transformation into a digitally empowered economy.

Finance

Axis Bank Launches India’s First Gold-Backed Credit Line on UPI via Freecharge

Tanisha Cardozo

Axis Bank, one of India’s largest private sector banks, has announced a groundbreaking new offering in collaboration with Freecharge: India’s first gold-backed credit line on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This pioneering product is set to redefine how secured credit is accessed in India, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), self-employed professionals, and merchants operating across urban and rural markets.

The offering enables users to avail instant credit against their gold holdings, transforming an age-old asset into a dynamic financial tool for modern digital use. The standout feature of the product is its integration with UPI, making both transactions and repayments simple, fast, and accessible from any UPI-enabled app, including Freecharge. Customers only pay interest on the utilized credit amount, ensuring a cost-effective way to manage cash flow, address urgent liquidity needs, or fuel business growth.

Existing Axis Bank customers with gold loan eligibility can avail this credit line through a completely digital journey, removing the need for physical branch visits after onboarding. The product is designed for seamless digital interaction—users can borrow and repay in real-time through UPI, with clear visibility into their credit line usage.

Speaking at the launch, Munish Sharda, Executive Director at Axis Bank, highlighted the innovation, stating that combining the trust of gold with the flexibility of UPI positions this product as a landmark in digital lending. It underlines Axis Bank’s commitment to expanding financial inclusion and pioneering secure credit solutions in the digital age.

This launch also aligns with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)’s recent guidelines permitting credit lines on UPI, opening up new avenues for banks and fintech players to collaborate and deliver accessible credit. Sohini Rajola, Executive Director – Growth at NPCI, noted that the infrastructure now in place allows financial institutions to build simplified and secure digital credit products that are scalable across India.

With Axis Bank’s expertise in credit and its vast branch network, coupled with Freecharge’s fintech innovation and digital-first approach, this new offering brings together the best of traditional finance and modern technology. It provides an innovative, trusted, and user-friendly credit solution, significantly raising the standard for digital lending in the country.

This marks a significant step forward in India’s journey toward inclusive, technology-driven financial services, and opens new possibilities for individuals and businesses to unlock the value of their assets instantly, anytime, anywhere.