Product Manager

Trade body CAIT has called on the RBI to direct banks to stop cashback offers on ecommerce platforms, citing harm to traditional retailers.  In a letter to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, CAIT's K...

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- Trade body CAIT has called on the RBI to direct banks to stop cashback offers on ecommerce platforms, citing harm to traditional retailers.
- In a letter to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, CAIT's Khandelwal also demanded the suspension of Amazon and Flipkart's festive season sales.
- The CCI recently found Amazon India and Flipkart guilty of antitrust violations, including prioritizing certain sellers.
- Khandelwal claims 1.5 lakh retailers are struggling due to unfair practices, with 50,000 small businesses already shut down.
- The CAIT, representing over 8 crore Indian retailers, has long advocated for a ban on these ecommerce platforms. 

 Source: [Inc42](https://inc42.com/buzz/direct-banks-to-withdraw-cashback-offers-on-ecommerce-platforms-cait-to-rbi/)

CAIT Urges RBI to Halt Bank Cashback Offers on Ecommerce Platforms

Journalist

CAIT Urges RBI to Halt Bank Cashback Offers on Ecommerce Platforms- Grapevine

- The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) accuses the Competition Commission of India (CCI) of mishandling investigations into **Amazon** and **Flipkart**.
- CAIT alleges these ecommerce giants have been bypassing regulations, using proxy sellers to control inventory and dominate listings.
- The body criticises the CCI for not taking decisive action on numerous complaints, and for separating investigations into Amazon and Flipkart, prolonging the process.
- CAIT also expresses concerns about alleged bias within the CCI’s antitrust division, suggesting favouritism towards the ecommerce giants.
- CAIT recently released a white paper, calling for a dedicated ecommerce regulator to address unfair trade practices in the Indian ecommerce market.

Source: [Inc42](https://inc42.com/buzz/cait-alleges-inaction-in-ccis-probe-against-amazon-flipkart/)

CAIT Accuses CCI of Inaction in Amazon & Flipkart Probe

Is there anyone from Paytm who knows what's going on ?

RBI vs Paytm discussion post

- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) found Amazon India and Flipkart guilty of violating competition laws by favoring select sellers on their platforms.
- Both companies will have the opportunity to review the report and file objections before fines are decided.
- The CCI's investigation, initiated in 2020, revealed that preferred sellers received advantages such as better listings and deep discounts.
- The watchdog noted that these practices had a catastrophic impact on market competition, especially in the mobile phone segment.
- This development follows multiple legal challenges and a Supreme Court ruling allowing the investigation to proceed. 

 Source: [Inc42](https://inc42.com/buzz/cci-finds-flipkart-amazon-india-guilty-of-flouting-antitrust-rules/)

CCI Finds Flipkart & Amazon India Guilty Of Flouting Antitrust Rules

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

Over the past few months the price difference betweem e-commerce websites and stores during sale period have decreased with Reliance Digital and Croma being at par or better than Fk or Amz in terms of pricing (except a few poster items)

Fashion based e-commerce in India is even worse with size issues, courier frauds and high returns. Companies are now charging a non refundable delivery/convinience fee to become profitable.

Reliance has drastically reduced investments in e-commerce and is focussing on expanding offline presence. 

Is the doom of e-commerce in India near

Is e-commerce losing relavance

- The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) has urged Trade Minister Piyush Goyal to scrutinize the rapid growth of quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto.
- AICPDF claims the unchecked expansion of these platforms is undermining small kirana stores, which are crucial to India's retail sector.
- Quick commerce companies deny harming kiranas, stating they compete with e-commerce and modern retail instead.
- An investor suggests these companies avoid admitting impact on kiranas to evade regulatory scrutiny.
- AICPDF calls for protective measures and dialogue among stakeholders to ensure fair business practices. 

 Source: [Moneycontrol](https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/rapid-unchecked-growth-of-quick-commerce-hurting-millions-of-kiranas-and-small-retailers-fmcg-distributors-body-aicpdf-12805612.html)

Rapid Growth of Quick Commerce Threatens Kiranas: AICPDF to Piyush Goyal

PAYTM Payments Bank essentially asked to shut shop. 

Afaik here are the few implications
1. Stock market will react in a bad way to them
2. Worst affected are going to be FasTag users who bought from PayTM.
3. No deposits / credits allowed in any account. Withdrawal is allowed. 
4. UPI not allowed after Feb

Paytm gets a shock from RBI

That stock is about to crash so fucking hard. Thank god i got out. The crappiest IPO of this decade.

Growth Manager

Walmart owns majority share in both PhonePe and Flipkart, PhonePe is a separate entity from Flipkart, but why is Flipkart itself entering into UPI ecosystem when it is dominant in e-commerce and PhonePe is dominant in UPI and payments.

Why is Walmart letting both organisations go against one another by building Flipkart UPI seems weird and waste by burning money.

Is it hoping Flipkart UPI to get market share from Amazon Pay or something else is at play here ?

Why not pitch PhonePe inside Flipkart app heavily instead ?

Why Flipkart built UPI ?

Software Engineer

I know a lot of people from startup community are coming out in support of VSS & Paytm. But they are happily ignoring the news & experts' words of caution.
Look at what ex-RBI director has to say on the issue. IT WAS A DISASTER IN MAKING SINCE OCT'23.
No one is above the law of land. Startups don't mean you can innovate at the expense of compliance.
https://www.cnbctv18.com/finance/paytm-payments-bank-rbi-order-restrictions-disaster-in-the-making-18940381.htm

Startups coming out in support of Paytm

Authorization will enable the payment companies to onboard new merchants onto its platform for processing online payments. 

Folks at these companies, how big is this? How is the company reacting?

Last year, the central bank asked Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, and Paytm, which hold in-principal approvals for payment aggregator licence, to stop on-boarding new merchants till they get the final licence.

RBI lifts ban on Razorpay, Cashfree; allows onboarding new merchants

After the recent RBI mandate to banks and NBFCs against unsecured personal loans, the lenders have pulled back their hands from digital lending. My company has already started facing the impact. Tomorrow onwards we won't be able to disburse any new loans from our platform because the lender is unsure of the road ahead.

Personally, I can't afford to go through another layoff this year :')

Brace for impact people in lending biz!!!

Ashneer Grover statement on RBI vs Paytm

- Union minister Piyush Goyal questioned if the rapid growth of e-commerce in India is a 'matter of concern' rather than pride.
- Speaking at a report launch event, Goyal highlighted potential social disruptions due to the expanding e-commerce network.
- He emphasized the need for an orderly role for the e-commerce industry, particularly criticizing predatory pricing policies.
- Goyal pointed out the imbalance between small traders and large retailers, noting the decline of small mobile stores.
- He stressed that technology should empower and benefit a larger section of society, ensuring convenience and connectivity are citizen-centric. 

 Source: [Moneycontrol](https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/are-we-going-to-cause-social-disruption-piyush-goyal-says-growth-of-e-commerce-firms-cause-of-concern-12802413.html)

Piyush Goyal Raises Concerns Over E-Commerce Growth in India

RBI bans Bajaj Finance to stop lending under ecom and insta emi products with immediate effect- WHY?

Director Finance

Extremely valid point. Thoughts?

Analyst

- Tax authorities have issued GST notices to CCAvenue and BillDesk for low-value digital transactions.
- The notices demand GST on fees charged to merchants for transactions below INR 2,000 since FY18.
- The GST Council may discuss an 18% GST levy on such transactions next week.
- Payment aggregators like Pine Labs, Razorpay, and PayU could face financial burdens due to this move.
- The fintech sector might pass on these costs to merchants or end-users, affecting the ecosystem. 

 Source: [Inc42](https://inc42.com/buzz/ccavenue-billdesk-get-gst-notices-for-digital-transactions-below-inr-2000/)

GST Notice Shocks CCAvenue and BillDesk Over Sub-INR 2,000 Payments

Part time seller of posters here. Have burnt lot of money on Amazon ads - made few sales as well but ROAS is very low. Was thinking of using Shopify and using SEO to drive traffic. 
Tried Flipkart as well but found the policies and the support very poor. 
Its very sad to see Amazon and Flipkart monopolising almost all Ecommerce traffic in India.

Seller struggles on Amazon and Flipkart

- The Finance Ministry's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) will hear pleas from seven offshore crypto exchanges this week.
- Exchanges like Bitfinex, MEXC Global, Kraken, Huobi, Gate.io, Bittrex, and Bitstamp were banned for non-compliance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
- The ban may be lifted if these platforms pay pending GST dues amounting to around INR 2,900 Cr.
- Compliance with PMLA provisions, including KYC norms and reporting of suspicious transactions, is mandatory for resumption.
- GST authorities may also send notices to other foreign crypto exchanges that previously operated in India. 

 Source: [Inc42](https://inc42.com/buzz/fiu-to-hear-pleas-of-seven-banned-crypto-platforms-to-restart-india-ops/)

CAIT Urges RBI to Halt Bank Cashback Offers on Ecommerce Platforms

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