Markets 📉, AI 🤖, & Google Pay’s Sneaky Move 👀 (Feb 21)

THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY! But First, Chai… ☕

It’s Friday, and if you’ve been watching the markets this week, you deserve an extra strong cup of chai! 📉💸 

From Walmart’s cautious forecast rattling Wall Street to SEBI shaking up IPO rules, and Apple betting big on AI—it’s been a rollercoaster of a week. But don’t worry, we’ve got everything you need to wrap up the week the Masala Chai way!

Chai Shots ☕🔥

• ☕ Uber ditches commissions for auto drivers – Uber is shifting to a flat daily fee model for auto-rickshaw drivers in India, moving away from commission-based earnings to compete with Rapido and Namma Yatri.

• 🔥 Burman family takes control of Religare Enterprises – After a long battle, the Burman Group has officially gained a controlling stake in Religare Enterprises (REL), ousting former chairperson Rashmi Saluja. The family, which owns Dabur, now holds over 50% of REL, promising stronger governance and long-term growth.

• 🤖 OpenAI hits 400M weekly users – ChatGPT usage is soaring, with 400M weekly users, up from 300M in December 2024. Enterprise adoption has also doubled.

• 📉 Google Pay adds convenience fee – Google Pay joins PhonePe and Paytm in charging 0.5%-1% plus GST on utility bill payments made via credit/debit cards. Read more in our Big Brew below!

• 📱 Apple launches iPhone 16e with AI features – Apple’s new budget AI-powered iPhone is 40% pricier than the last SE model but aims to expand Apple’s AI reach.

Market Masala 📈

• 📉 Sensex and Nifty fall for the third straight day – Weak Asian markets, fresh tariff threats, and foreign fund outflows dragged Sensex down by 203 points to 75,735, while Nifty dipped to 22,913.

  📈 Broader markets rebound – Despite blue-chip sell-offs, midcap and smallcap stocks saw a recovery, signaling investor interest beyond large-cap stocks.

• 📊 SEBI to revamp IPO KPI disclosures – SEBI is tightening IPO-bound companies' disclosure norms, requiring them to compare KPIs with industry peers and disclose financial ratios for the past three years.

• 🚘 Volkswagen’s $1.4B tax battle in India – Indian authorities are demanding unpaid import duties from Skoda Auto Volkswagen, arguing that Volvo, Mercedes, and BMW have already paid similar taxes.

• 💰 India’s auto component industry to grow 8-10% – Despite higher freight costs and Red Sea disruptions, the auto component sector is expected to expand steadily in FY26, per ICRA.

Global Masala 🌍

• 📉 Wall Street slides – Dow fell 600 points, S&P 500 slipped 0.7%, and Nasdaq dropped 0.8% as Walmart’s cautious outlook spooked investors.

• 🇨🇳 US-China trade deal talks advance – Trump hinted at a "possible" trade deal with China, but tariff tensions remain high as both sides impose new levies.

• 💊 India pharma firms push for tariff relief – With Trump proposing 25% tariffs on pharma imports, Indian drugmakers are relying on bilateral talks to protect $8.7B in exports.

• 🇪🇺 Europe stocks rise amid Schneider Electric’s surge – Schneider Electric’s stock jumped 5% on record profits, while Renault posted record earnings despite EV transition challenges.

• 📺 Twitch caps streamers’ storage – Streamers can now store only 100 hours of highlights and uploads on Twitch, as the platform cuts costs.

The Big Brew ☕🍵 Google Pay’s "Convenience" Fee… but Convenient for Whom? 🤔

Google Pay just joined PhonePe and Paytm in charging a 0.5% to 1% + GST fee on bill payments via credit/debit cards—while UPI-to-bank remains free (for now 👀).

💸 Why is this happening?

• UPI is free, so fintechs can’t earn directly from transactions.

• Processing payments costs them ₹12,000 Cr annually, and they’re passing that cost to users.

• Google Pay alone handles ₹8.26 lakh Cr in UPI transactions monthly but operates on razor-thin margins.

⚡ What does this mean?

• UPI remains free, but will fintechs push more hidden fees elsewhere?

• More platforms may start charging for credit/debit transactions.

• Could this backfire? Users might switch back to direct bank apps to avoid fees.

• Will the RBI step in? So far, the regulator has been focused on keeping UPI free—but fintechs need a revenue model too.

Our Thoughts 💭

This move signals a major shift in India’s fintech landscape. UPI’s explosive growth has been great for digital payments—but bad for fintechs that haven’t figured out how to make money from it. 📢 What do you think—fair game or daylight robbery? Let us know! 💬

Startup Scoop 🚀

• 💳 PhonePe preps for IPO – Walmart-backed PhonePe has started its IPO journey, eyeing Indian stock exchanges after crossing ₹5,000 Cr in revenue in FY24.

• 🐶 Dogsee Chew raises $8M for global expansion – The Himalayan cheese-based pet treat brand will use the funding to scale production and expand in the US & Canada.

• 🍦 NOTO Ice Cream scoops ₹15 Cr – The low-calorie, high-protein ice cream brand secured funding from Inflection Point Ventures to expand in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities.

• 🥜 The Whole Truth raises $15M – The clean-label food brand is expanding its in-house manufacturing and launching new protein products with fresh funding.

• 📰 Good Glamm selling ScoopWhoop – Meme marketing startup WLDD is set to acquire ScoopWhoop from Good Glamm Group for ₹18-20 Cr, after Good Glamm originally acquired it for ₹100 Cr in 2021.

Chai Break Trivia 🤔

Did you know? Parle-G is the world's largest-selling biscuit! 🍪 First made in 1939, Parle-G has been a tea-time staple in India for decades. It sells more than 1 billion packets every month—that’s enough biscuits to circle the Earth multiple times! Talk about dunking into history! ☕🌍

What’s Brewing Next? 🔮

• RBI to announce latest economic indicators 📊

• More updates on the India-US pharma tariff discussions 💊

• Global market reaction to China trade talks 🌏

That’s a wrap for today’s Masala Chai! ☕ Stay tuned for more updates, and don’t forget to share this newsletter with your fellow chai lovers!