Fintech Brief — March 26, 2026 Today’s Top Stories 1. RBI Likely Intervened to Support Rupee Amid NDF Pressures The Reserve Bank of India likely intervened in the foreign exchange market on Wednesday to support the rupee, as heavy dollar demand linked to maturing non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) offset relief from falling oil prices. The South Asian currency held above its record low of 93.98 per dollar, closing at 93.96, down 0.1% on the day. ...
Stock Watch — March 25, 2026 Market Day Summary | Not investment advice 📊 INDICES Index Prev Close Change % Change Nifty 50 22,912.4 +401 +1.78% Nifty Bank 41,000 +82 +0.20% FinNifty 24,548.6 +589.4 +2.46% Nifty IT ~41,500 -498 -1.20% Previous close data from March 24, 2026 🏦 BANKS — Digital Payments Focus Bank Symbol Prev Close Change % Key Levels Expectation HDFC Bank HDFCBANK ₹780.45 +2.88% ↗️ R: 800, S: 750 Positive - recovering from selloff ICICI Bank ICICIBANK ₹1,380 +1.5% ↗️ R: 1,420, S: 1,340 Stable State Bank SBIN ₹1,058 -2.47% ↘️ R: 1,080, S: 1,030 Under pressure Axis Bank AXISBANK ₹1,120 +1.2% ↗️ R: 1,150, S: 1,090 Moderate recovery Kotak Bank KOTAKBANK ₹1,780 +0.8% ↗️ R: 1,820, S: 1,740 Range-bound 💳 FINTECH — Pure Play B1: Digital Payments & Wallets Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation Paytm PAYTM ₹450 -3.2% ↘️ Under pressure MobiKwik MOBIKWIK ₹280 -2.5% ↘️ Weak B2: Insurance & Credit Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation PB Fintech PBFINTECH ₹1,820 +1.8% ↗️ Positive B3: Payment Infrastructure Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation Infibeam INFIBEAM ₹18.5 -1.5% ↘️ Weak Pine Labs PINELABS ₹1,420 +0.5% ➡️ Flat NPST NPST ₹320 -2.8% ↘️ Under pressure B4: Payments Banking & Cards Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation Fino Payments FINOPB ₹113.6 -18.6% ↘️ Critical - HIT ALL-TIME LOW SBI Cards SBICARD ₹673.50 +3.1% ↗️ Top performer B5: ATM & Cash (Peripheral) Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation AGS Transact AGSTRA ₹42 -4% ↘️ ⚠️ Under CIRP 📰 Sector News Market Rebound: Nifty surged 401 points (+1.78%) on March 24, recovering from previous day’s 2.6% decline amid US-Iran de-escalation signals HDFC Bank: Stock recovered 3% after 4-day selloff; external law firms appointed to review Chairman Chakraborty’s exit Fino Payments: Shares crashed 18.6% to all-time low after Telangana HC dismissed CEO’s bail plea Manufacturing PMI: India’s HSBC Manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.8 in March (from 56.9), signaling moderation RBI: No major policy announcements overnight; market awaitsMPC signals Global Cues: Oil prices fell on US-Iran ceasefire hopes; dollar index steady at 99.3 📈 Pre-Market Signals SGX Nifty: Indicating positive open (~+50 pts) India VIX: Elevated at 18.5 — volatility expected FII/DII: FPI selling continues; DII supporting markets Sources: Moneycontrol, NSE India, Economic Times Markets Disclaimer: AI-generated for educational purposes. Not investment advice. ...
Fintech Brief — March 25, 2026 Today’s Top Stories 1. SEBI Proposes Gift Cards for Mutual Fund Investments India’s markets regulator SEBI has proposed allowing gift cards or gift prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) for mutual fund investments to improve financial inclusion and onboard new investors. The proposal, outlined in a consultation paper released on March 23, aims to make mutual fund investments more accessible by enabling gifting of investment units through prepaid instruments. ...
Stock Watch — March 23, 2026 Market Day Summary | Not investment advice 📊 INDICES Index Prev Close Change % Change Nifty 50 23,114.50 +112.35 +0.49% Nifty Bank 53,427.05 -23.95 -0.04% FinNifty 24,951.80 -975.55 -3.76% Nifty IT 29,199.60 +620.00 +2.17% SGX Nifty Futures: 22,782.00 (-78.00, -0.34%) 🏦 BANKS — Digital Payments Focus Bank Symbol Prev Close Change % Key Levels Expectation HDFC Bank HDFCBANK 781.00 -2.15% S: 775 R: 795 ↘️ Pressure on card revenue ICICI Bank ICICIBANK 1,249.80 -0.02% S: 1,240 R: 1,260 ➡️ Flat SBI SBIN 1,058.30 +0.90% S: 1,045 R: 1,070 ↗️ UPI volume strong Axis Bank AXISBANK 1,205.70 -0.11% S: 1,195 R: 1,220 ➡️ Slight weakness Kotak Bank KOTAKBANK 367.00 -0.31% S: 362 R: 375 ➡️ 811 digital steady 💳 FINTECH — Pure Play Tier B1: Digital Payments & Wallets Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation Paytm PAYTM 1,054.30 +1.20% ↗️ Post-results rally MobiKwik MOBIKWIK N/A N/A Market closed Tier B2: Insurance & Credit Company Symbol Expectation PB Fintech PBFINTECH Watching premium Tier B3: Payment Infrastructure Company Symbol Expectation Infibeam Avenues INFIBEAM Enterprise focus Pine Labs PINELABS POS merchant growth NPST NPST UPI infra play Tier B4: Payments Banking & Cards Company Symbol Expectation Fino Payments Bank FINOPB 143M+ customers SBI Cards SBICARD Pure-play card play Tier B5: ATM & Cash (Peripheral) Company Symbol Note AGS Transact AGSTRA ⚠️ Under CIRP 📰 Sector News Oil prices surge on Middle East tensions; Brent at $106/bbl could impact Indian equities [^1] Goldman Sachs warns India faces slower growth, higher inflation from oil shock [^2] FinTech sector sees continued digital payments adoption; UPI volumes remain strong Mastercard defends position in Europe’s payments sovereignty debate [^3] 📈 Market Outlook Nifty 50: Flat-to-positive open expected; support at 22,900 Bank Nifty: Under pressure from oil-led inflation fears; support at 53,200 IT Index: Best performer (+2.17%) on rupee depreciation benefits FinNifty: Biggest loser (-3.76%) on concerns over financial sector exposure Summary as of 08:20 IST, March 23, 2026 ...
Fintech Brief — March 23, 2026 Today’s Top Stories 1. NPCI Slashes RuPay Credit Card UPI Fees; PhonePe, Google Pay to Benefit The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced a reduction in UPI fees for RuPay credit card transactions, effective April 1, 2026. The revised fee structure lowers third-party app provider (TPAP) fees from 8 to 6 basis points for non-industry players and from 4 to 3 basis points for industry players. This change impacts consumer-facing UPI apps like Paytm, Google Pay, and PhonePe, potentially improving their margins on high-volume transactions. PhonePe and Google Pay, which process combined billions of transactions monthly, stand to gain the most from reduced fee outflows to NPCI. The fee reduction does not affect offline small merchants, EMI transactions, or merchant MDR rates. 1 ...
Fintech Brief — March 22, 2026 Today’s Top Stories 1. PhonePe Shelves IPO Plans Citing Geopolitical Tensions Walmart-backed PhonePe, India’s largest digital payments platform, has put its Initial Public Offering (IPO) plans on hold, citing ongoing geopolitical tensions and volatile global stock markets. The decision marks a significant shift for the Flipkart-owned company, which had been preparing for one of the biggest fintech listings in Indian market history. Investment bankers working with PhonePe had recently suggested lowering valuation expectations to approximately $9 billion, down from earlier projections. The company currently leads India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem in transaction volumes, surpassing Google Pay. In February 2026, PhonePe processed about 9.3 billion transactions worth roughly ₹13.1 trillion (approximately $141.9 billion), compared with Google Pay’s 6.8 billion transactions worth around ₹9 trillion (around $97.8 billion), according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). 1 ...
Fintech Brief — March 21, 2026 Today’s Top Stories 1. IFSCA Unveils New FinTech Sandbox Framework for IFSCs The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has issued a comprehensive revised FinTech Sandbox Framework through Circular EF.No.: 505/IFSCA-FTec0FTEF/1/2023, dated March 16, 2026. This new framework replaces the earlier 2020 Regulatory Sandbox circular and the 2022 Framework for FinTech Entity, centralizing all innovation-related activities under a single, specialized regime for India’s International Financial Services Centres. ...
Stock Watch — March 20, 2026 Market Day Summary | Not investment advice 📊 INDICES Index Prev Close Change % Change Nifty 50 23,002.15 -775.65 -3.26% Nifty Bank ~50,500* -1,500* ~-3.0%* FinNifty ~24,500* -1,200* ~-4.7%* Nifty IT ~27,500* -1,500* ~-5.2%* Estimated based on sector performance; exact data pending Note: Previous close from March 19, 2026. Market crashed on Iran war fears. 🏦 BANKS — Digital Payments Focus Bank Symbol Prev Close Change % Key Levels Expectation HDFC Bank HDFCBANK ~₹845* -8.7% S: 800, R: 900 ↘️ Critical support broken ICICI Bank ICICIBANK ~₹1,250* -2.5%* S: 1,200, R: 1,300 ↘️ Under pressure SBI SBIN ~₹1,030* -3.5%* S: 1,000, R: 1,070 ↘️ Bearish Axis Bank AXISBANK ~₹1,180* -3.8%* S: 1,150, R: 1,220 ↘️ Weak Kotak Bank KOTAKBANK ~₹395* -4.0%* S: 380, R: 410 ↘️ Breakdown HDFC Bank shares hit 1-year low after Chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned over “values and ethics” concerns ...
Fintech Brief — March 20, 2026 Today’s Top Stories 1. Gold Loans Surge to ₹14 Trillion as RBI Greenlights Foreign Investment India’s gold loan sector is experiencing an unprecedented boom, with the total market now estimated at ₹14 trillion ($152 billion), according to Yan Wang, chief emerging market strategist at Alpine Macro. RBI data shows gold loans more than doubled to ₹4 trillion ($43.3 billion) in January 2026 from ₹1.75 trillion a year earlier, making gold-backed lending the largest retail loan segment after home and vehicle loans. 1 ...
Stock Watch — March 19, 2026 Market Day Summary | Not investment advice 📊 INDICES Index Prev Close Change % Change Nifty 50 23,777.80 +196.65 +0.83% Nifty Bank 54,876.00 +462.60 +0.85% FinNifty 25,724.65 +209.40 +0.82% Nifty IT 29,042.55 +1,182.65 +4.25% Note: Previous close from March 18, 2026. Pre-market data as of 08:20 IST. 🏦 BANKS — Digital Payments Focus Bank Symbol Prev Close Change % Key Levels Expectation HDFC Bank HDFCBANK ₹924.70 -0.11% S: 900, R: 950 ➡️ Consolidation ICICI Bank ICICIBANK ₹1,285.40 +0.98% S: 1,260, R: 1,310 ↗️ Bullish SBI SBIN ₹1,069.80 +0.29% S: 1,050, R: 1,090 ↗️ Slight bullish Axis Bank AXISBANK ₹1,227.50 +1.05% S: 1,200, R: 1,250 ↗️ Slight bullish Kotak Bank KOTAKBANK ₹412.20 +0.85% S: 400, R: 425 ↗️ Slight bullish 💳 FINTECH — Pure Play Tier B1: Digital Payments & Wallets Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation Paytm PAYTM ₹986.50 -2.70% ↘️ Under pressure Tier B2: Insurance & Credit Marketplaces Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation PB Fintech PBFINTECH ₹4,120.30 +1.85% ↗️ Slight bullish Tier B3: Payment Infrastructure & Gateways Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation Infibeam Avenues INFIBEAM ₹14.05 +0.28% ➡️ Flat Pine Labs PINELABS — — Not listed NPST NPST — — Not listed Tier B4: Payments Banking & Cards Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation Fino Payments Bank FINOPB ₹154.50 +9.38% ↗️ Strong bounce SBI Cards SBICARD ₹698.20 +0.38% ➡️ Flat Tier B5: ATM & Cash (Peripheral) Company Symbol Prev Close Change % Expectation AGS Transact ⚠️ AGSTRA ₹2.95 -1.67% ↘️ Under CIRP ⚠️ AGSTRA is under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) ...