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Fintech driving growth for MSMEs and merchants, says FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that India’s fintech companies are playing a crucial role in expanding the country’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and empowering merchants as well as micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The Finance Minister visited the office of Pine Labs, a digital fintech company based in Noida, and interacted with its employees and staff members.

She acknowledged “India’s fintech firms’ contribution to expanding the country’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and in enabling seamless, secure, and inclusive financial services for merchants and MSMEs,” the Finance Minister’s Office said in a post on X.

B. Amrish Rau, CEO of Pine Labs, shared his excitement in a post on X, saying that it was “an exciting and unbelievable day… It was a full house and our FM was completely immersed in her interactions and tech discussions.”

Pine Labs is a merchant commerce omnichannel platform operating across India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The company focuses on simplifying digital payments and helping businesses scale their fintech solutions.

Meanwhile, UPI QR codes have shown the fastest growth in India’s digital payments infrastructure in the financial year 2024–25, registering a 91.5 percent increase over the previous year, reaching 657.9 million.

The number of banks going live on UPI continues to rise, reaching a total of 668 in April, which is expected to boost the value of transactions, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

UPI has emerged as the dominant method for digital transactions in India. Nearly four out of every five digital payments in the country during FY24 were conducted via UPI, according to the RBI’s annual report.

The RBI has also introduced greater flexibility in revising transaction limits for in-person UPI merchant payments. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) can now adjust limits based on user needs, with appropriate safeguards—making UPI even more convenient for users.

India’s digital payments ecosystem witnessed a significant surge in the second half of 2024, driven by the increased use of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), mobile payments, and cards, according to Worldline India’s Digital Payments Report.

IANS

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