Fintech Brief — July 30, 2026

Delhi High Court Orders Winding Up of Paytm Payments Bank

The Delhi High Court has ordered the winding up of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), formalising the end of one of India’s most prominent payments banks. Through orders dated July 8 and July 22, 2026, the court directed liquidation under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, read with the Companies Act, 2013. The RBI, which had cancelled PPBL’s banking licence in April 2026 citing persistent non-compliance with regulatory norms, confirmed the development on July 29. Former SBI Chief General Manager Girikumar M. Nair has been appointed Official Liquidator, assuming all powers previously held by PPBL’s board from July 8 onwards. The liquidator is tasked with managing asset recovery, settling claims, and ensuring compliance throughout the winding-up process. ¹

NPCI Mandates Phone Number Masking on UPI Apps

NPCI has directed UPI apps and banks to mask users’ mobile numbers — a significant privacy move aligned with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. Under the new rules, only the last four digits of a user’s mobile number should be visible. For QR code payments, apps must not display the payer’s or recipient’s phone number post-transaction. NPCI has also instructed apps to allow users to set non-phone-based UPI IDs as their default, reducing reliance on mobile numbers as identifiers. This addresses long-standing concerns about phone numbers being exposed during UPI transactions, which created risks of unwanted contact and identity misuse. ²

UPI Now Accepted for Burj Khalifa Online Bookings

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) announced that UPI is now accepted for online bookings at ‘At the Top, Burj Khalifa’ — the first UAE attraction to integrate UPI. The partnership with NEOPAY and Emaar Entertainment lets Indian visitors book experiences on the Burj Khalifa’s official website using UPI. Emaar described India as “one of our most important international markets,” and the move marks another step in NIPL’s strategy to expand UPI’s overseas footprint. Indian travellers can now pay via UPI before even arriving in Dubai. ³

CKYC 2.0 Deadline Looms for Banks and Fintechs

Indian banks, NBFCs, fintechs, and insurers are racing against a late-July 2026 deadline to migrate from batch PDF-based KYC uploads to CKYC 2.0’s real-time API-first architecture. The Central KYC Registry Revamp (CKYCRR 2.0) mandates a shift to real-time API integrations for identity verification, replacing the legacy batch upload process. Institutions that fail to meet the cutoff risk compliance gaps in their onboarding flows. The transition affects every regulated entity that performs KYC — from large banks to smaller fintech lenders. ⁴