Exclusive: ICICI Bank breaks zero-fee UPI model, starts charging payment aggregators

Exclusive: ICICI Bank breaks zero-fee UPI model, starts charging payment aggregators

30 Jul 2025, 11:49 AM

Interestingly, not just payment aggregators, the has decided to charge some large merchants – who use the bank’s UPI directly.

Pine Labs IPO Playbook: Between DRHP Gloss and Ground Reality Premium news

Pine Labs IPO Playbook: Between DRHP Gloss and Ground Reality

22 Jul 2025, 04:44 PM

Conversations with half a dozen industry insiders reveal a company that is struggling to articulate a coherent growth narrative and a unified brand story.
At a Glance: Global bipedal robot race accelerates as Chinese firms make bigger strides

At a Glance: Global bipedal robot race accelerates as Chinese firms make bigger strides

29 Jul 2025, 03:47 PM

Elon Musk recently said Tesla and SpaceX lead the humanoid robot race, but Chinese firms will dominate ranks two to 10. With Unitree launching a low-cost model, the robotics race is heating up fast.
In Charts: Amrish Rau's startup bets Premium news

In Charts: Amrish Rau's startup bets

24 Jul 2025, 11:58 PM

With Pine Labs headed for an IPO, CEO Amrish Rau could pocket Rs 800-1,000 crore via OFS. The Head and Tale tracks where else he's poised to cash in.
Complaint filed with SEBI against hBits over disclosure concerns amid family feud Premium news

Complaint filed with SEBI against hBits over disclosure concerns amid family feud

17 Jul 2025, 03:40 PM

A complaint with Sebi claims hBits suppressed "material information" while applying for SEBI's approval to launch the SM-REIT.
At a Glance: Sebi-penalized Jane Street's many fintech, AI bets

At a Glance: Sebi-penalized Jane Street's many fintech, AI bets

16 Jul 2025, 06:26 PM

The recall value of Jane Street's name has shot up in the past weeks after India's SEBI barred the entity from accessing the Indian securities market for manipulating trades.
PayU India employees can’t cash out shares – and there’s no IPO in sight till mid-2026 Premium news

PayU India employees can’t cash out shares – and there’s no IPO in sight till mid-2026

09 Jul 2025, 11:13 PM

According to internal data reviewed by The Head and Tale, the fair value of SARs under multiple PayU-linked schemes has plunged sharply by 30-60% yoy.

Pine Labs’ chief growth officer quits ahead of IPO

Pine Labs’ chief growth officer quits ahead of IPO

01 Jul 2025, 03:53 PM

Pine Labs chief financial officer Marc Kay Mathenz has also resigned from the company.
Pine Labs files draft papers for IPO

Pine Labs files draft papers for IPO

26 Jun 2025, 04:37 PM

The public offer comprises of fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,600 crore ($304 million) and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 14.78 crore shares.
At a Glance: Razorpay's M&A activity since its first acquisition in 2019

At a Glance: Razorpay's M&A activity since its first acquisition in 2019

18 Jun 2025, 10:35 PM

The Head and Tale looks back at those deals struck by Razorpay as the company readies itself for an initial public offering (IPO) in the coming years.
Open, but not Transparent: Inside the Cracks at India’s 100th Unicorn Premium news

Open, but not Transparent: Inside the Cracks at India’s 100th Unicorn

12 Jun 2025, 11:53 AM

Once celebrated for disrupting SME banking with its neobank model, Open’s journey since hitting the $1 billion mark in 2022 has been anything but smooth.
Exclusive: Former PayU CBO Sudhir Sehgal joining Paytm, say sources Premium news

Exclusive: Former PayU CBO Sudhir Sehgal joining Paytm, say sources

05 Jun 2025, 10:54 AM

Sudhir Sehgal is set to join Paytm Payments Services Limited as Chief Operating Officer.
Inside BharatPe’s tech overhaul as it preps for 2026 IPO Premium news

Inside BharatPe’s tech overhaul as it preps for 2026 IPO

02 Jun 2025, 05:20 PM

Performance pressure is mounting at BharatPe, triggering leadership shakeups and engineering changes ahead of its IPO, sources say.
Exclusive: BharatPe chief product officer Rohan Khara assumes additional charge as CTO

Exclusive: BharatPe chief product officer Rohan Khara assumes additional charge as CTO

02 Jun 2025, 03:08 PM

Khara will now serve as CPTO (Chief Product and Technology Officer), a source aware of the development told The Head and Tale.
Razorpay flips back to India at a $150 million cost

Razorpay flips back to India at a $150 million cost

29 May 2025, 05:00 PM

The development comes weeks after Razorpay officially restructured itself into a public limited company, a key step toward its anticipated IPO.
RBI vs Government: The battle over India’s digital payments ecosystem explained Premium news

RBI vs Government: The battle over India’s digital payments ecosystem explained

28 May 2025, 05:01 PM

A decade-old debate ends with government formalizing oversight of payments through Payments Regulatory Board, redefining roles across RBI, NPCI and fintech.
What led Google-backed DotPe to shut down its lending unit Premium news

What led Google-backed DotPe to shut down its lending unit

23 May 2025, 03:35 AM

DotPe’s ambitious foray into financial services has come to a halt barely a year after launch, following a rapid build-up of lending volumes…
The Head and Tale Impact: Strata surrenders SM-REIT licence; SEBI warns investors

The Head and Tale Impact: Strata surrenders SM-REIT licence; SEBI warns investors

14 May 2025, 10:10 AM

Sebi has issued a cautionary note to investors after accepting the surrender of registration by Strata SM-REIT.

Exclusive: PayU receives final nod from RBI to operate as payment aggregator

Exclusive: PayU receives final nod from RBI to operate as payment aggregator

13 May 2025, 06:56 PM

The Gurugram-based fintech received an in-principle approval from the central bank in April 2024 to operate as a payment aggregator.
China's Antfin offloads 4% stake in Paytm worth $246 million: report

China's Antfin offloads 4% stake in Paytm worth $246 million: report

13 May 2025, 02:10 PM

Antfin, which holds a 9.85% stake in One 97 Communications, has been steadily reducing its holding. In Aug 2023, it transferred around 44% of its Paytm stake to CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

Fintech Highlights

  1. AU Small Finance Bank gets RBI's in-principle nod for universal bank licence

  2. Rainmatter invests in former Zerodha advisor floated company

  3. DPDzero secures $7 million in Series A led by GMO Venture Partners

  4. Zype bags Rs 90 crore in Series B funding

  5. Paytm employees see single-digit remuneration hike; headcount falls 10%
  6. Read more news...

AI/Emerging Tech

  1. Google launches personal learning companion tool in Gemini

  2. Ex-Tesla executives launch AI startup DensityAI

  3. Amazon hosts OpenAI models on AWS for first time

  4. Perplexity acquires Invisible to help scale Comet

  5. OpenAI introduces two open-weight AI reasoning models
  6. Read more news...

Editor's Pick

  1. Pine Labs IPO Playbook: Between DRHP Gloss and Ground Reality

  2. Complaint filed with SEBI against hBits over disclosure concerns amid family feud

  3. RBI vs Government: The battle over India’s digital payments ecosystem explained