What’s new

• Loan referral disburseals jumped to ₹210 cr, a 186% YoY surge.
• Transaction volume plummeted 48% YoY, continuing the exit from UPI P2M.
• New partnership with Ezee.ai for lending ecosystem, terms undisclosed.

Why it matters

Fino is trading payments volume for loan referrals. The trade-off is stark: the old business is in freefall, and the new one is growing fast from a small base. The Ezee.ai partnership is the latest move to build a lending infrastructure, but without quantified targets, the pivot's financial viability is still unproven.

What we’re watching

• Whether the Ezee.ai partnership translates into actual loan volumes next quarter.
• If the 48% transaction decline stabilises or continues to erode the core.
• The net revenue impact as high-margin referrals offset collapsing payments fees.

The full read

Fino Payments Bank's May update is a pivot in progress. Loan referrals hit ₹210 cr, up 186% year-on-year. Transaction volume fell 48%. The two numbers are two sides of the same coin: Fino is exiting low-margin payments to chase higher-value lending. Deposits grew 10% and digitally active customers rose 19%. The partnership with Ezee.ai for the lending ecosystem, though unquantified, signals the next build-out. This is a routine filing. It adds little to what the market already knew from the Q4 call. But it does cleanly confirm the new shape of the business, even as the old one bleeds out. Three months in a row now.

Primary source: BSE · NSE

What’s new

• Founding MD Rishi Gupta resigned on Thursday, citing a desire to pursue other interests.
• The board extended the tenure of Ketan Merchant as interim chief for up to three months.
• Gupta faces ongoing scrutiny following his arrest and subsequent bail in a GST investigation.

Why it matters

Gupta was the primary architect of Fino's profitability and its recent small finance bank approval. His departure, closely trailing a tax-related arrest, creates a leadership void at a point when the bank needs stable oversight to execute its transformation.

What we’re watching

• Progress on the RBI's small finance bank conversion requirements.
• Any further findings from the GST investigation involving the former MD.
• Stability of the leadership team as the board searches for a permanent successor.

The full read

Rishi Gupta, the founder and managing director of Fino Payments Bank, resigned on Thursday after two decades in charge. He leaves just weeks after an arrest and subsequent bail related to a GST investigation. While the board previously cleared him as fit and proper, his exit introduces immediate leadership uncertainty for a company valued at ₹1,014 crore.

He is gone.

Fino remains at a critical juncture, having recently secured an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to become a small finance bank while Ketan Merchant acts as interim head for the next three months. The departure of the visionary leader behind the bank's profitability and its complex transition strategy creates a significant gap that is difficult to ignore. Investors are left to navigate this transition without the executive who secured the bank's current regulatory standing. The immediate test is whether the company can maintain its operational rhythm while losing its most familiar face.

Primary source: BSE · NSE