Fintech has emerged as Karnataka’s top-funded tech sector in 2025 with USD 1 billion in investments, even as overall funding into the state’s tech ecosystem declined. Tracxn’s Karnataka Tech Annual Funding Report 2025 shows that investors are shifting capital toward high‑margin, compliance‑heavy digital infrastructure plays while becoming more selective across stages and sectors.​ Fintech Surges as Overall Funding Contracts Total funding for Karnataka‑based tech companies fell...

Western Union has inaugurated an AI‑led Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Hyderabad in partnership with HCLTech, positioning the facility as a strategic hub for payments innovation and digital platform modernisation. The centre will apply AI and data‑driven engineering to Western Union’s core technology stack, supporting the company’s broader shift from a pure remittance model to a diversified digital financial services business. Senior leaders from...

Tracxn's ecosystem analysis, commissioned by rewards platform TWID, documents structural transformation in India's alternative payments landscape where UPI dominance—handling 83% of FY25 digital payment volume across 185.8 billion transactions (41.7% YoY growth)—shifts competitive focus from transaction scale to stored value activation through rewards, incentives, and embedded financial instruments. The study tracks 420+ startups founded between 2020-2025 YTD raising $418 million across 88 funding rounds, spanning...

Bengaluru-based fintech SaaS startup Prosperr.io has secured $4 million in seed funding, bringing total capital to $5.55 million. Led by Jungle Ventures with participation from Yatra Angel Network, Sadev Ventures, and strategic investors, the funds will accelerate product development, B2B sales expansion, and entry into wealth management. Founded in 2022 by engineers Manas Gond and Dev Kumar, the company addresses complex tax compliance in...

India’s fintech sector confronts a stark reality: explosive deepfake-related cybercrime growth coincides with heavy reliance on imported electronic components, primarily from China and Hong Kong. Cases have surged over 550% since 2019, with projected losses reaching ₹70,000 crore in 2024. Low-cost foreign hardware dominates high-trust edge devices like micro-ATMs, soundboxes, biometric scanners, and printers. The Hardware Dependency Trap The deeper vulnerability lies not in specific countries...

Facial Recognition and Fingerprint Verification to Replace PIN for Seamless Digital PaymentsIn a landmark move to strengthen digital payment security and convenience, India is set to introduce biometric authentication for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions starting October 8, 2025. Users will soon be able to authorise payments through facial recognition or fingerprints, eliminating the need to enter a PIN for authentication. According to sources familiar...

In a strategic move to secure the future of the eurozone’s digital currency, the European Central Bank (ECB) has selected Portuguese AI firm Feedzai to develop a fraud detection system for the upcoming digital euro. The contract, which could reach a value of €237.3 million (approximately $279 million), underscores the ECB’s push for financial autonomy and a secure digital payments ecosystem. Feedzai, in partnership with...

BillMart, a fast-growing Indian fintech platform, has announced the launch of GigCash — a custom-built credit line aimed at India’s rapidly expanding gig and platform workforce. The product is designed to address the unique liquidity challenges faced by gig workers, who often struggle to access formal credit due to irregular incomes and limited documentation. According to NITI Aayog, India had 7.7 million gig workers in...

Fintech platform MobiKwik is once again under scrutiny after a major “processing glitch” triggered unauthorized payouts amounting to ₹40 crore. The company’s statement attributes the breach to an internal system error, but the scale, speed, and recurrence of such incidents have raised serious concerns over the company’s internal controls and governance. Processing Error Turns Into Payout Fraud Between September 11 and 12, MobiKwik’s systems erroneously marked...

PayPal’s checkout, payout, and enterprise services will be embedded across Google platforms as part of a multi-year AI collaboration. Google and PayPal have entered a long-term strategic partnership aimed at enhancing digital commerce through AI-powered tools and deeper platform integration. The move positions both companies to create more seamless payment experiences, improve fraud detection, and streamline merchant workflows across consumer and enterprise touchpoints. As part of...