
Hi fintech friends, I'm Osborne, investor in early stage startups.
Please enjoy all the news and updates from the past week in today’s edition. If you feel TWIF brings you value, please share it with your friends (and maybe suggest they subscribe too).
A quick favour: if you derive value from these newsletters, can I request you do the following? This will ensure these updates reach you every time!
reply to the email (with feedback or a quick "received"
check your spam folders for past emails
mark TWIF as "important" and move it out of promotion folders.
Are you considering starting up? I’d love to help. DM me here: superdm.me/osborne
🧐🏆 Posts of the Week
Why is everyone setting up an office in GIFT City?
(1) Major income tax benefit: Companies operating in the IFSC zone get a 100% income tax exemption for any 10 consecutive years (within the first 15 years of incorporation)
(2) Further tax benefits: Zero STT (Securities…— Rahul Mathur (@Rahul_J_Mathur) August 8, 2025
Crypto is (mostly) FinTech (for) now.
A shift has occurred in crypto over the past few months, and I think it changes everything for DeFi-native founders building consumer apps.
It all started with Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge for $1 billion. It made two key factors apparent…— Joel John (@joel_john95) August 6, 2025
Shareholders demand entry for Garba functions from NESCO management in AGM pic.twitter.com/AuNAB1ecut— Beat The Street (@BeatTheStreet10) August 6, 2025
Large cap is the new debt.
Private markets are the new equity.
An interesting quote I heard today that summarises how risk appetite has shifted upwards in the last 5 years, and some asset allocation buckets have been forgotten :)— Radhika Gupta (@iRadhikaGupta) August 6, 2025
📈 Chart of the Week

🇮🇳 India
📰 Market Updates
Parliamentary standing committeeurged government to explore new International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in multiple cities, highlighting need for more financial innovation hubs across India.
BharatPe, a small business payments company, turned profitable with INR 6 cr ($690K) adjusted Profit Before Tax (PBT) in FY25, recovering from INR 342 cr ($39M) loss in previous year.
India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections grew 7.5% to INR 1.95 lakh crore ($22bn) in July, with domestic source collections growing 6.7% and import-based collections increasing 9.7%.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) crossed 700M transactions a day and processed INR 25 lakh crore ($285bn) in value.
BSE SME exchangeexpanded to 600 listings, raised INR 10,652 crore ($1.2bn), with average Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Initial Public Offering (IPO) size tripling to INR 32cr ($3.7M) between Jan, 2023 and Jun, 2025.
Zerodha Fund Houselaunched a Multi Asset Passive Fund of Funds (FoF) with 30% largecap ETF, 30% midcap ETF, 25% gold ETF, and 15% government securities ETF, targeting steady wealth creation with lower portfolio volatility.
Infibeam, a digital payments company, reported INR 1,280cr ($146M) quarterly revenue, growing 72% YoY with payment business contributing 96% of collections in Q1 FY26.
Federal Bankreported a 15% YoY decline in quarterly net profit to INR 862cr ($100M) due to elevated provisions in agriculture and microfinance segments in Q1 2026.
Top 14 Indian banksexperienced 150 basis points CASA ratio decline over past year, resulting in 18 basis points net interest margin reduction in Q1 FY2026.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept policy repo rate unchanged at 5.5% in August monetary policy review, with no immediate impact on loan EMIs.
🚀 Product Launches
Super.moneylaunched flight bookings with 5% discount.
JioBlackRock Asset Management, a joint venture between Jio Financial Services and BlackRock, launched five Index Funds targeting diverse market segments during NFO from August 5-12, 2025.
RazorpaylaunchedCardSync, a comprehensive card tokenisation solution for seamless and secure digital payments.
India Post Payments Banklaunched nationwide Aadhaar-based face authentication for digital banking transactions, enabling secure and convenient banking for elderly and differently-abled customers.
Bank of Barodalaunchedbob FxOne, a digital foreign exchange platform for corporate and small businesses, enabling instant forex and derivative transactions with real-time rates.
CAMSlaunched CAMSAi, an AI model pre-trained on proprietary datasets targeting financial institutions' service quality and operational efficiency.
📝 Regulatory Updates
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced stricter co-lending regulations, mandating technological integration and 15-day loan assignment window, potentially slowing co-lending for home and MSME loans.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed Authorised Dealer Category-I banks to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) for overseas correspondent banks without prior approval.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) outlined policy for joint annual inspection and information sharing mechanism among Market Intermediary Institutions (MIIs).
Quant Mutual Fundreceived final approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch India's first Specialised Investment Fund (SIF), targeting sophisticated investors with long-short equity strategies.
Indian Railways' subsidiary IRCTC Paymentsreceived in-principle RBI approval to operate as payment aggregator, enabling cross-border and domestic transactions.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed removing subject restrictions for investment advisers and research analysts, allowing graduates from any discipline to apply for the license after clearing mandatory NISM certification exams.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted AU Small Finance Bank in-principle approval to transition to a universal bank, the first such approval in a decade.
Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) approached Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reduce risk weights on loans against property, arguing for lower risk classification compared to unsecured loans.
💰 Financing Announcements
Zype, a digital lending startup, raised INR 90 crore ($10.4M).
DPDZero, a digital debt collections startup, raised INR 60cr ($7M).
Mitigata, a cyber insurance startup, raised INR 52cr ($5.9M)
CapitalMind, an asset management company, raised INR 45cr ($5.2M).
Fibe's lending arm EarlySalary raised INR 225 cr ($26.5M) through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) from investors including AK Capital Finance, Franklin Templeton AIF, and Vivriti Alpha in August 2026.
ACQUISITIONS:
Central Bank of Indiaacquired 25.18% stake in life insurance and 24.91% stake in general insurance, launching new Generali Central brand with updated visual identity in 2025.
Weaver Services, backed by Gaja Capital, acquired 75% stake in Centrum Housing Finance for INR 600 crore ($73M) at 2x enterprise valuation.
1-min Anonymous Feedback: Your feedback helps me improve this newsletter. Click UPVOTE 👍🏽 or DOWNVOTE 👎🏽
🌏 Asia
📰 Market Updates
HSBClaunched its Innovation Banking division in Australia, increasing client base by 50% and providing specialised financing for high-growth technology companies.
Visalaunched global Cybersecurity Advisory Practice under Visa Consulting & Analytics.
Sygnum, a digital asset bank, integrated Sui blockchain token with regulated custody, trading, and lending solutions for professional and institutional clients.
Cathay United Bankreceived approval to establish a branch in Tokyo and a sub-branch in Fukuoka, marking its debut in the Japanese market.
Central banks of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailandexpanded Local Currency Transaction Framework by appointing additional cross-currency dealers to facilitate local currency trade settlements.
DBS, Southeast Asia's largest bank, reported a 1% YoY net profit increase of S$2.8bn ($2.2bn) in Q2 2025.
Finmolaunched Confirmation of Payee (CoP) feature in Australia to enhance payment security and fraud prevention.
Visapartnered with Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) to launch Visa Direct, enabling real-time cross-border payments for Filipinos across 190 countries, targeting $905B global remittance market.
fanClaunched Korea's first won-pegged digital token KRWIN in a test phase, targeting payments, remittances, and tourism sectors with blockchain technology.
Allied Bank in Pakistan partnered with Avanza Innovations to launch immersive 3D virtual banking platform.
DigiFT, a Singapore-based crypto exchange, launchedCUBX, a tokenised loan product from Docking Tech with 12% expected annual yield targeting Indonesian micro-loans
Hong Leong Banklaunched financial literacy workshops for Foodpanda delivery partners, targeting 3M Malaysian gig economy workers with essential money management skills.
Skyeeobtained Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), enabling comprehensive payment services across Southeast Asia.
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) launched comprehensive crackdown on digital lending fraud, investigating multiple fintech platforms including TaniFund, Crowde, Akseleran, and Investree for alleged financial misconduct and loan defaults.
TransferMatereceived in-principle approval from Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to expand payment services, enabling local account issuance and money transfer capabilities.
Ant Internationalobtained Money Services Business (MSB) licence in Malaysia, enabling WorldFirst to launch digital cross-border payment services for SMEs.
Investment Association of United Kingdom (IA) and Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) joinedProject Guardian, an international blockchain and asset tokenisation initiative led by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
💰 Financing Announcements
ACQUISITION:
Banking Circleacquired Australian Settlements Limited (ASL) to enhance cross-border and domestic payment capabilities in Australia's financial ecosystem.
🌏 Sponsor on TWIF

Mail us at [email protected] / click here
If you’ve made it this far - thanks! As always, you can always reach me at [email protected]. I’d genuinely appreciate any and all feedback. If you liked what you read, please consider sharing or subscribing.
1-min Anonymous Feedback: Your feedback helps me improve this newsletter. Click UPVOTE 👍🏽 or DOWNVOTE 👎🏽

