Spice Money: Industry Monitoring 24 January 2019
- Priyanka Kanodia
- Jan 24, 2019
- 6 min read
Spice Money
Industry News
Best FD interest rates in Small Finance banks: Check options with highest rates
Publication- The Financial Express
Edition- Online
Date- 24 January, 2019
With the RBI not looking very comfortable with the inflation numbers across food and fuel segments, it is unlikely that there could be a major cut in the upcoming RBI’s monetary policy meet. So, with interest rates not coming down in a hurry, investors especially who are retired and also those who are ultra-conservative may heave a sigh of relief. Investors looking to park their funds in bank fixed deposits of commercial banks such as SBI, ICICI, HDFC, or Axis bank may also consider FDs in Small Finance banks. As far as retail investors is concerned, one thing that separates them from older established commercial banks is the higher interest rate that they offer across different tenure.
Currently, SBI FD is offering 6.8 percent to 6.85 percent over 1 to 10 years deposits, while HDFC bank is offering around 7.3 percent for deposits which are less than 5 years and 6.5 percent for 5 years and above. ICICI bank FD is currently offering between 6.9 percent and 7.5 percent on 1 to 10 year deposit. Even Bandhan bank FD is offering 7.65 percent on tenure above 18 months to less than 2 years. On the other hand, some of the Small Finance bank fixed deposits are offering interest rate of about 9 percent per annum.
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Kotak Lawsuit: Will It Finally Make RBI Accountable?
Publication- Money Life
Edition- Online
Date- 24 January, 2019
Uday Kotak is a cautious and savvy banker with deep and strong connections in the business world. However, by no stretch, is he an activist. So, why would he drag his regulator to court, especially the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which has always guarded its ‘independence’ or lack of public accountability very zealously? RBI ordered the promoters of Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) and Bandhan Bank to bring down promoter holding to below 20%. In Kotak’s case, there has been back-and-forth on the issue for 10 long years, largely because of the many changes in guidelines and regulations in the interim.
Finally, RBI gave an ultimatum to both the Banks and threatened coercive action if they did not comply by 31 December 2018. Bandhan Bank, a micro-finance company-turned-bank that hit the big time, was asked to dilute its stake, within three years, to 40% (August 2018). After an IPO (initial public offering), the promoter shareholding remains locked in until 2019; but RBI doesn’t care about capital market regulations. Since Bandhan Bank failed to dilute its holding, RBI decided to freeze the pay of a very dynamic promoter, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, and bar it from opening new branches. Faced with the reputational damage implicit in the action, Bandhan Bank was pressured into desperate dilution.
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Paytm may enter two more developed markets in 2019: CFO
Publication- The Economic Times
Edition- Online
Date- 24 January, 2019
Digital payments company Paytm is considering foraying into 1-2 more developed markets in 2019, Chief Financial Officer Madhur Deora said on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Paytm has already found its footing in Canada and Japan, and several commerce and financial services verticals of the company have begun to churn out revenue and profits, Deora told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. "We have found the developed markets to be very interesting," Deora said.
While the company can't commit to a definite launch in other markets, it is working on building a scalable business, he added. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a 25 billion rupees ($356 million) stake in Paytm's parent company One97 in August last year. Paytm, founded in 2010, which counts China's Alibaba Group and its financial services arm Ant Financial Services Group among investors, faces intense competition from other players such as Google Pay and state-backed Unified Payment Interface (UPI).
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Got a UPI app? Guard your mobile
Publication- DNA India
Edition- Online
Date- 24 January, 2019
Payments or fund transfers using mobile apps have made life easy for consumers. But it has also made it easier for fraudsters to siphon money from your accounts. After hacking into net banking accounts and credit cards, fraudsters are now targeting Unified Payments Interface (UPI) apps. There have been reports of customers losing lakhs of rupees from their bank account through the UPI app. But negligence on the part of customers also has a role to play, say experts DNA Money spoke to. Let us understand how the fraud is carried out and what we can do to prevent such incidents.
UPI is relatively a new payment mechanism. It allows a third-party application to support its functionality, which is backed by a bank/ payment ecosystem. "It could possibly be compared to wallets, but it has an inherent nature of a stored value account where money has been explicitly moved, and therefore in that sense it is not the actual bank account that is at potential risk/exposure,'' says Ramaswamy Venkatachalam, managing director – India, FIS.
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South Africa's Vodacom reports quarterly slowdown in growth
Publication- Reuters
Edition- Online
Date- 24 January, 2019
South Africa’s Vodacom reported on Thursday a slowdown in quarterly group and service revenue growth, as its pricing-transformation strategy and transition of traffic between roaming partners dented revenue at home - its largest market. The mobile phone company said group revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2018 rose 1.5 percent to 23 billion rand ($1.66 billion), under the previous IAS 18 accounting standard, compared with 6.7 percent jump last year.
While service revenue climbed 2.4 percent to 18.9 billion rand, compared with 5.5 percent growth in the year-ago period. The unit of Britain’s Vodafone said service revenue from its international operations jumped 13.2 percent on the back of sustained data revenue growth and continued success of its mobile financial services platform, M-Pesa.
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5G and Blockchain Economics
Publication- Business Today
Edition- Online
Date- 24 January, 2019
If you think technology has disrupted our way of life, brace yourself for what is about to come - the exponential digital transformation that will be unleashed in both businesses and personal lives, over the next few years will be beyond imagination. What was once inconceivable is now a normal practice and we have not even begun to experience the power of next generation of technologies like 5G and Blockchain. As I engage in thoughtful discussions at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, global leaders across all industries have relayed to me how new age technologies such as Quantum Computing, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), are helping to transform their businesses. It is fascinating to hear how forward-thinking executives are leveraging latest tech to become more nimble, more productive and more profitable.
The biggest question I repeatedly get asked is "what will ultimately have the biggest impact on the future of my business?" While technologies such as AI and ML will continue to undoubtedly change the way every business operates, I believe it is the 5G and Blockchain duo that will ultimately change the world. But, it will all boil down to how the power of these technologies is harnessed by the global leaders to create a sustainable and inclusive world in times of constant disruption.
Please click on the link below:
https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/5g-and-blockchain-economics/story/313149.html
Paytm to step up overseas expansion this year
Publication- Tech Circle
Edition- Online
Date- 24 January, 2019
Digital payments company Paytm is considering foraying into 1-2 more developed markets in 2019, Chief Financial Officer Madhur Deora said on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Paytm has already found its footing in Canada and Japan, and several commerce and financial services verticals of the company have begun to churn out revenue and profits, Deora told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. "We have found the developed markets to be very interesting," Deora said.
While the company can't commit to a definite launch in other markets, it is working on (/) building a scalable business, he added. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a 25 billion rupees ($356 million) stake in Paytm's parent company One97 in August last year. Paytm, founded in 2010, which counts China's Alibaba Group and its financial services arm Ant Financial Services Group among investors, faces intense competition from other players such as Google Pay and state-backed Unified Payment Interface (UPI).
Please click on the link below:
https://techcircle.vccircle.com/2019/01/24/paytm-to-step-up-overseas-expansion-may-enter-more-developed-markets-this-year
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