MAM
Fintech POP appoints Navi’s Pancholi to head engineering
MUMBAI: POP, the fintech startup targeting young Indian consumers, has appointed Chandresh Pancholi as its new head of engineering and product.
Pancholi joins from Navi, where he served as director of engineering, leading a 90-person team that helped propel the company’s UPI payment application from 12th to 4th position in India’s competitive digital payments market.
During his tenure at Navi, he oversaw several key initiatives including the development of a credit line on UPI with Karnataka Bank and a central abuse detection platform for UPI reward systems.
Prior to Navi, Pancholi held technical leadership positions at Paytm and Flipkart, building considerable experience in India’s e-commerce and financial technology sectors.
POP, founded in 2023 by former Flipkart executives, offers a rewards-based payment ecosystem where users earn “POPcoins” worth Rs 1 each for transactions made through its platform. The company is backed by India Quotient and several angel investors from the consumer internet sector.
At POP, Pancholi will be responsible for scaling the company’s technical infrastructure and developing new product features as the startup attempts to challenge established players in India’s increasingly crowded digital payments market.
MAM
10 years of UPI: India’s payments system hits 21.7 billion transactions a month
From queues to QR codes, digital push drives inclusion and real-time ease
NEW DELHI: India’s digital payments story has come a long way from queues at bank counters to instant QR code scans, with the Unified Payments Interface now processing a staggering 21.7 billion transactions in a single month, underlining its position as the world’s leading real-time payments system.
Not too long ago, routine transactions meant paperwork, waiting periods and, for many, complete exclusion from the formal financial system. Today, that landscape has been fundamentally reshaped by a digital ecosystem built on scale, simplicity and accessibility.
The shift gained momentum in the early 2000s when the Reserve Bank of India introduced systems such as RTGS and IMPS. While these laid the groundwork for faster payments, their reach remained limited to those already within the banking fold.
A decisive breakthrough came with the JAM trinity, combining the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and widespread mobile connectivity. This framework expanded financial access, enabled direct benefit transfers and familiarised millions with digital transactions.
“The JAM Trinity catapulted our banking to a different level altogether,” said Nirmala Sitharaman, highlighting its transformative impact.
Launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India, UPI simplified money transfers by removing the need for complex bank details. With just a mobile number or UPI ID, users can send and receive money instantly, round the clock.
Its scale has expanded rapidly, with participating banks growing from just over 200 in 2021 to nearly 700 by early 2026. Today, UPI accounts for 81 percent of India’s retail digital transactions and nearly half of global real-time payment volumes, according to global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Beyond convenience, the platform has driven deeper financial inclusion. From street vendors and autorickshaw drivers to rural traders and domestic workers, millions now participate in the formal economy through instant, low-cost transactions. The system has also opened doors to credit, insurance and savings products for previously underserved segments.
New features such as UPI Lite, AutoPay and credit integration are further expanding its scope, turning it into a broader financial platform rather than just a payments tool. At the same time, enhanced security measures like two-factor authentication have strengthened user trust and reduced fraud risks.
India’s payments innovation is also gaining global traction, with UPI-linked systems now operational in multiple countries, enabling seamless cross-border transactions and boosting remittances.
What began as a solution for financial inclusion has evolved into a global benchmark for digital payments. As India continues to move from queues to QR codes, UPI stands as a powerful example of how technology can simplify everyday life while driving economic participation at scale.
