e-commerce
GUEST COLUMN: How India’s digital payments are entering a new era in 2026
Exploring key trends, innovations, and shifts set to shape digital payments in 2026.
MUMBAI: India’s digital payments ecosystem has matured rapidly, moving beyond the early race for adoption to become a foundational part of everyday economic life. S. Anand, founder and CEO of PaySprint, explains how 2025 marked a pivotal shift from expansion-driven growth to institutional maturity, with stability, reliability, and systemic resilience emerging as critical priorities for the industry.
In this piece, Anand explores how embedded finance, API-led innovation, and evolving consumer expectations are redefining how payments are experienced and trusted. He examines the growing importance of transparency, operational discipline, and intelligent infrastructure, and outlines why 2026 is poised to focus on interoperability, predictive risk management, and building confidence across India’s increasingly connected financial ecosystem.
India’s digital payments ecosystem has evolved at remarkable speed over the past decade, but 2025 may well be remembered as the year the industry moved from rapid expansion into institutional maturity.
For several years, the primary objective across fintech and payments was adoption. The question was how quickly digital transactions could replace cash driven behaviour and onboard users across geographies and demographics. By 2025, that question had largely been answered. Digital payments were no longer an emerging alternative. They had become a foundational layer of everyday economic activity.
From neighbourhood merchants and gig workers to enterprise supply chains and service platforms, digital transactions became deeply embedded in how value moved across the economy. As a result, the industry’s priorities began to shift. Speed and scale, while still important, were no longer enough. Stability, reliability, and systemic resilience moved to the forefront.
Payments increasingly began to resemble critical infrastructure rather than convenience driven technology. Transaction uptime, dispute resolution mechanisms, data governance, and operational accountability gained equal importance alongside innovation. Greater regulatory engagement during the year reflected this reality, reinforcing the idea that financial systems supporting millions of daily transactions must operate with institutional discipline.
At the same time, 2025 witnessed significant acceleration in API led fintech innovation, particularly through the rise of embedded finance.
Financial services are steadily disappearing into the background of digital experiences. Payments today are rarely standalone actions. They are integrated seamlessly into commerce platforms, logistics workflows, education ecosystems, healthcare interfaces, and service marketplaces. This transition marked a fundamental shift toward programmable finance.
APIs emerged as strategic infrastructure, allowing businesses to integrate financial capabilities directly into their operational journeys rather than redirecting users toward external payment environments. Embedded finance reduced friction for customers while enabling businesses to innovate faster and scale more efficiently.
The result was not simply faster payments but smarter ones. Financial functionality became contextual, appearing exactly where and when users needed it.
Alongside technological evolution, consumer behaviour also reflected growing maturity.
Indian users are no longer experimenting with digital payments. They depend on them. This dependence reshaped expectations in meaningful ways. Convenience alone was no longer sufficient to build loyalty. Trust emerged as the defining currency of the ecosystem.
Consumers became increasingly sensitive to transaction failures, communication delays, and how their data was handled. Transparency around processes, faster grievance redressal, and consistent system performance began influencing platform preference more than incentives or cashback driven acquisition strategies.
Trust, in many ways, replaced novelty as the primary driver of adoption.
This shift also reshaped how fintech companies approached marketing and communication.
The industry moved away from high volume promotional messaging toward clarity driven engagement. Users increasingly wanted to understand how systems worked, what safeguards existed, and how platforms handled risk. Brands that invested in educational storytelling and transparent communication gained stronger credibility.
Marketing in fintech became less about feature comparison and more about demonstrating reliability and long term intent. Explaining infrastructure, security frameworks, and operational philosophy began to matter as much as announcing product updates.
As we look toward 2026, interoperability is likely to define the next phase of digital payments growth.
The seamless movement of value across platforms, institutions, and even borders will become increasingly important as businesses and consumers operate in more connected ecosystems. India’s digital public infrastructure model, particularly through the continued evolution and international expansion of UPI, is expected to play a central role in shaping this transition.
Equally significant will be the role of artificial intelligence in strengthening security and risk management.
Fraud detection systems are already evolving beyond reactive monitoring toward predictive intelligence. AI driven models will increasingly identify behavioural anomalies and potential threats before transactions are completed, shifting the ecosystem toward proactive prevention rather than post incident correction.
The next wave of innovation is likely to emerge at the intersection of automation, contextual finance, and real time intelligence. Payments will not merely execute instructions. They will anticipate intent, enabling smoother business operations and more intuitive consumer experiences.
Ultimately, the future of digital payments will not be defined by scale alone. India has already demonstrated that adoption at scale is possible. The next chapter will be shaped by trust, interoperability, and intelligent infrastructure.
If the past decade was about building access, the years ahead will be about building confidence.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
e-commerce
Flipkart rolls out 105 per cent bonus for 20,000 employees
Strong FY25 performance drives payouts even as layoffs and shifts unfold.
MUMBAI: In a year where belts were tightened and rewards loosened, Flipkart seems to be playing both offence and defence trimming roles on one hand while handing out a generous 105 per cent bonus on the other. The Walmart owned e commerce major has rolled out a 105 per cent bonus payout for 2025, covering nearly 20,000 employees, signalling a year of steady operational momentum even as the company navigates restructuring pressures. The payout, communicated internally by chief human resources officer Seema Nair, is tied to performance across key metrics including growth, operational efficiency, financial outcomes and people indicators, a combination that suggests the company is inching closer to its long stated goal of sustainable profitability.
Employees at SD level and below are set to receive their bonuses in March, while payouts for senior leadership, including vice presidents and senior vice presidents, will follow after the close of the performance cycle. The elevated 105 per cent multiplier stands out in a sector where cautious payouts have increasingly become the norm, pointing to what appears to be a relatively strong internal scorecard for FY25.
Yet, the announcement arrives with a noticeable contrast. Earlier this year, Flipkart reduced its workforce by around 300 roles as part of its annual performance review process. While officially framed as performance driven, the juxtaposition of layoffs alongside above target bonuses reflects a more nuanced balancing act, one that prioritises cost discipline while continuing to reward and retain high performing talent.
This dual approach is becoming increasingly common across the technology and e commerce landscape, where companies are navigating an uneven hiring environment while under pressure to deliver profitability. Rewarding top contributors, even amid selective workforce reductions, allows firms to maintain morale and retain critical talent without losing sight of financial prudence.
At the same time, Flipkart is also undergoing leadership shifts that hint at a broader strategic recalibration. Nishant Verman has been appointed senior vice president for corporate development and partnerships, while group chief financial officer Sriram Venkataraman is set to step down. Ravi Iyer will take on expanded responsibilities within the finance function, marking a reshuffle at the top as the company gears up for its next phase.
These changes come amid reports that Flipkart is planning to shift its holding structure back to India, a move widely interpreted as groundwork for a potential public listing. While timelines remain fluid, the combination of stronger financial discipline, leadership restructuring and employee incentivisation suggests a company preparing itself for greater scrutiny and scale.
For employees, the 105 per cent payout offers a welcome boost in what has otherwise been a period of adjustment. For Flipkart, it is a signal that even as it cuts where necessary, it is willing to spend where it counts. In the high stakes game of growth versus profitability, the company appears to be hedging its bets carefully, rewarding performance while reshaping itself for what could be its most defining chapter yet.
