There's a clearing platform in development that might change the playing field of the payments industry in China. The Payment and Clearing Association of China had a member congress in April and has approved a proposal to build an Internet payment clearing platform for non-bank payment institutions.

And these are not Fintech startups alone. The banking sector is trying to woo this very important and growing ecosystem in the country. Some banks have resorted to novel ways of doing so. RBL (Ratnakar Bank Limited) has announced opening of a branch in Bengaluru dedicated exclusively to cater to the growing startup ecosystem in that city.  This comes close on the heels of SBI recently announcing the establishment of its branch called InCube in Bengaluru recently. RBL bank plans to launch several such branches across the country in the future.

It is well understood that India continues to have acute challenges around financial inclusion. Only 40 per cent of the adults in the country have formal bank accounts, despite the country having 150 domestic commercial banks and over 2,700 co-operative sector banks operating in the country.

The financial services sector in India is at it again; at least the regulators and the mainstream business publications are. Talking up UPI (Unified Payments Interface) as a panacea for India’s challenges with financial inclusion, cash economy (read black money), plateauing digital ecosystem and you name it. 

After a lull in investments and a lacklustre IPO, the Indian ecommerce market is heating up once again. While China-based Alibaba had earlier invested in Snapdeal (ranked #2 in India by market share) and Paytm, it recently announced a direct foray into the Indian market, making the entire ecommerce sector sit up and take notice. Now Japan’s Rakuten seems set to follow suit into India.

Recently DCB Bank became the first bank in India to introduce Aadhar based authentication at its ATMs, starting with its branch in India’s commercial hub- Mumbai. Aadhar provides a 12 digit number to every Indian resident that serves as a proof of identity as well as proof of residence, with biometric scanners being used for authentication.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch recently confirmed the application of the block chain-based technology to trade finance transactions. This is a clear indication from the traditional banking sector of their support for the disruptive technology. The bitcoin’s underlying technology finally is seeing practical use.

What’s the golden rule for investment? Don’t lose money. China’s middle class are thinking the same, and people are looking to P2P platforms for ‘safe and high return investment’ until the recent successive P2P company crisis from Jinlu to Zhongjin which has become a nightmare for the families who invested everything on them - the future of P2P products is uncertain.

Ecommerce major Flipkart’s acquisition of UPI based startup PhonePe Internet Pvt Ltd shows that the payment space is heating up at a rapid pace. Incidentally PhonePe, the Bengaluru based startup was launched by three former Flipkart executives just four months back, and is focusing on peer to peer payments, bill payment and merchant payments- areas of interest for ecommerce companies.

Earlier this week the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) came out with guidelines allowing for 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in online retail of goods and services.