e-commerce
Zeta launches e-meal voucher on RuPay, tax benefits accessible in remote areas
MUMBAI: Fintech start-up Zeta, which offers digital employee benefits for tax optimisation, has tied up with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) payment platform – RuPay. The partnership will widen Zeta’s payment network and push for a more inclusive adoption of digital payments in corporate India. This collaboration makes Zeta’s meal voucher solution the first ever such solution to run on Government of India endorsed RuPay platform.
With RBL Bank as its banking partner, Zeta’s revolutionary pre-paid card called the Zeta Super Card will now also be available on the RuPay platform. The Zeta Super Card, includes robust anti-fraud security measures that lets users make payments across 12 lakh+ outlets across India as well as online stores.
NPCI MD & CEO A. P. Hota said, “This strategic partnership between RBL Bank and Zeta will assist all individuals to spend their salary perquisites through digital means.”
Zeta Co-founder and CTO Ramki Gaddipati said, “The combined offering of Zeta, RBL and RuPay is built with a sharp focus on enhancing user experience, and is aimed at accelerating the cashless movement using technologies made in India, for India. Joining the RuPay platform will further strengthen Zeta’s payment network and will also help us reach corporates as well as PSUs with employees based in remote areas.”
RBL Bank executive director Rajeev Ahuja said, “RBL Bank has successfully built a strong digital platform business that delivers enhanced services in banking and other domains. We have identified many areas of the economy that, with these technologies, can be made more efficient and also help lower the cost of accessing these services for a larger number of consumers. We believe collaborating with the right partners is an important ingredient towards succeeding in the new era of digital businesses. In Zeta, we have a highly committed partner who is constantly looking to break new ground.”
Taking forward its commitment towards the Digital India movement, the company will also launch payments via UPI, Bharat QR Code and Aadhaar Pay modes, which will be available to a larger section of the salaried population with or without access to smartphones and magnetic stripe card machines.
With these payment modes, Zeta intends to remove the existing barriers to digital payments. Salaried employees across all sectors, including PSUs can now take advantage of receiving and spending tax benefits digitally even in remote locations.
“When it comes to digitising employee benefits, it is essential to consider every employee in the organisation and provide solutions that work for everyone. Several of the PSUs have employees in locations that have limited card network reach,” Gaddipati added.
“For many of the small merchants who deal in essentials like food and medicines, the card machines may be unaffordable. We can’t ignore those challenges. Therefore, we built Zeta using technologies made in India, made for India and envisaged for digital inclusion of all the people by the Government of India.”
“The Zeta benefits platform is on Rupay uses Aadhaar for eKYC and authentication, supports regional languages and is UPI, Bharat QR Code and Aadhaar pay ready. We will start rolling out these options as we start working with PSUs across the country. By providing such inclusive options, Zeta can ensure that salary benefits reach every eligible employee, no matter their location, language and digital literacy level is,” Gaddipati further added.
With RuPay’s reach of 12,20,763 enabled POS terminals, Zeta will now have a greater combined acceptance across the country, even while bringing small towns and remote areas into their net.
With the RuPay tie up, Zeta Super Card users now can also get access to exclusive privileges like Zeta has been disrupting the meal voucher industry by leveraging technology to ease the process of issuing, receiving and spending the prepaid Instrument for meals. Recent steps proposed by the Reserve Bank of India are also beneficial for overall industry growth.
With the recent RBI draft proposal on issuance of prepaid meal instruments that says meal vouchers in paper format will not be accepted beyond 31 December 2017, the company is busy helping both public and private sector companies make the move easily.
Within a short span of one year, Zeta has accumulated a client base of over 650 corporates spread across India and has over 100,000 end users.
e-commerce
American Express to acquire AI startup Hyper to boost automation
Deal targets expense management as AI reshapes corporate spending tools.
MUMBAI: From receipts to robots, the expense sheet is getting a brain upgrade as American Express moves to bring artificial intelligence into the heart of corporate spending. The company has announced plans to acquire Hyper, a relatively young but fast-rising startup founded in 2022 that builds AI-powered agents capable of organising expenses, generating reports, verifying compliance with budgets and policies, and nudging users with timely reminders. The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, underscores a growing shift among financial institutions to automate traditionally manual, time-heavy workflows.
Hyper counts Sam Altman among its backers, adding a layer of Silicon Valley credibility to the acquisition. While financial details remain undisclosed, the strategic intent is clear: deepen automation capabilities and sharpen American Express’s position in the competitive corporate spending ecosystem.
The two companies are not strangers. They previously collaborated in 2024 on a co-branded credit card product, suggesting that the acquisition is less a cold buy and more an extension of an existing relationship. With this move, American Express is effectively bringing that capability in-house, aiming to embed AI directly into its commercial services stack.
Chief executive Stephen Squeri had already signalled the direction of travel in a recent shareholder letter, describing AI as a “structural shift” in how businesses operate. The Hyper acquisition appears to be a direct response to that shift, particularly in expense management, where processes such as approvals, compliance checks and reporting remain ripe for automation.
Alongside the acquisition, the company is also expanding its product suite. A recently launched business credit card offers cashback and benefits at an annual fee of $295, with another card expected later this year moves that complement its broader push into commercial services.
Taken together, the strategy points to a future where managing expenses may require fewer spreadsheets and more algorithms. For American Express, the bet is simple, if businesses are rethinking how work gets done, the tools that power that work need to evolve just as quickly.
