Brands
Fasten your card belts Niyo delivers travel banking at jet speed
MUMBAI: Passport? Check. Luggage? Check. Forex card… still stuck in the mail? Not anymore. India’s travel fintech disruptor Niyo has just rolled out Niyo Express, a 24-hour doorstep delivery service for its international debit card and it’s aimed squarely at last-minute jet-setters. For those who treat travel plans like pop quizzes, this might just be the perfect lifeline.
Available across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru, Niyo Express promises to swoop in and save the day getting a Niyo DCB Debit Card into travellers’ hands within 24 hours, complete with doorstep KYC, account setup, and card activation. And for now, it’s completely free.
This rapid-response rollout isn’t random. Niyo dug deep into shifting travel behaviours and found that 48 per cent of flight bookings in 2024 were made just 0–7 days before departure, with over 41 per cent of international travellers leaning toward visa-free destinations to accommodate spontaneous trips. So, in a world of impulsive getaways, delayed cards and sky-high forex rates were becoming all-too-familiar travel tantrums.
Leisure getaways account for nearly 40 per cent of last-minute trips, while work travel and family emergencies make up a significant chunk too, according to Niyo’s pre-launch survey. The result? Travellers often end up paying steep forex rates or relying on patchy currency fixes from local agents or WhatsApp groups.
Niyo Co-founder and CEO Vinay Bagri said, “As international travel continues to rise, particularly among first-time travellers, and with the growing accessibility of visa-free destinations, impromptu travel plans have become more common than ever. Coupled with India’s thriving quick-commerce culture, it’s clear that the needs of today’s travellers are evolving rapidly. With Niyo Express, we are redefining travel banking by offering fast, seamless solutions that cater to these changing demands, ensuring our customers have access to the financial tools they need, when they need them.”
By merging fintech agility with the urgency of travel, Niyo Express is giving travellers one less thing to panic about now you can pack late and swipe early. The brand plans to expand the service beyond its current metros, meaning last-minute might just become the new first-class.
Brands
Magellanic Cloud names Syed Ameeruddin CEO of e-surveillance arm
Keeping a sharper eye on the future, Magellanic Cloud is putting a seasoned watcher in charge.
MUMBAI – Magellanic Cloud Ltd. has elevated Syed Ameeruddin as Chief Executive Officer of its e-surveillance business, bringing its iVIS and Provigil operations under a unified leadership to accelerate growth in intelligent monitoring and infrastructure solutions.
Ameeruddin, a nearly two-decade veteran of the company, steps into the role after leading the e-surveillance vertical. His career trajectory—from Business Development Manager to the top of the vertical—reflects a steady climb built on operational depth, client engagement, and strategic execution across multiple subsidiaries.
Over the years, he has played a central role in expanding the company’s footprint, strengthening client relationships, and streamlining operations. He has also been instrumental in integrating acquisitions, helping align new businesses with Magellanic Cloud’s long-term strategy while stabilising performance across diverse domains.
More recently, Ameeruddin has contributed to securing key mandates spanning railways, the National Highways Authority of India, and the BFSI sector—wins that have bolstered the company’s order book and deepened its presence in critical infrastructure.
Commenting on the move, Joseph Sudheer Thumma said Ameeruddin’s leadership has been “pivotal in shaping the e-surveillance business,” citing his ability to drive growth, build teams, and deliver strategic wins as key to the company’s journey. His elevation, Thumma added, is expected to further accelerate expansion in AI-driven surveillance and infrastructure solutions.
The transition comes as demand surges for AI-enabled monitoring, centralised command systems, and large-scale deployments across mission-critical environments. Magellanic Cloud’s e-surveillance segment—anchored by iVIS and Provigil—has emerged as a significant growth engine, delivering projects across banking, transport, highways, and public infrastructure.
In his new role, Ameeruddin will focus on scaling platform capabilities, expanding deployments in complex environments, and developing integrated solutions that enhance real-time intelligence and operational resilience. He will continue to serve as Chief Operating Officer of the company alongside his new responsibilities.
With this leadership shift, Magellanic Cloud is doubling down on its ambition to stay ahead in India’s rapidly evolving surveillance ecosystem—where seeing, increasingly, is not just believing, but predicting.
