India’s UX Reckoning, Zoho Launches POS Device, and Fino Payments Bank Settles

India’s latest crackdown on “dark patterns” marks a turning point for the country’s digital economy - not just in how apps look, but in how they make money.

For years, Indian consumers have been nudged, misled, or overcharged by design. Checkout pages that added ₹79 “Protect Promise” or ₹48 “Payment Handling Fee” without consent became so normalized that few questioned them. But after a series of viral posts in 2024 exposed how “discounted” products on Flipkart and Amazon still carried hidden costs adding up to ₹226 per order, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) stepped in. The probe soon expanded beyond e-commerce to Zomato’s “platform fees,” Swiggy’s rain surcharges, IndiGo’s seat charges, and even BookMyShow’s ₹1 pre-ticked “BookASmile” donation.

This isn’t a one-off crackdown. It’s part of a broader policy shift from growth at any cost to trust by design. The 2023 Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns outlawed 13 forms of manipulation - from “basket sneaking” to “false urgency” - and forced India’s biggest digital firms to conduct self-audits within three months. Over 50 companies across fintech, travel, food delivery, and streaming were served notices. Platforms like Zepto have already redesigned checkout flows, while Flipkart submitted compliance declarations after removing hidden fees.

At the heart of the reform are two categories regulators call “high-impact”: drip pricing (revealing costs only at the final step) and forced action (requiring unrelated purchases or data sharing to proceed). Both have been cash machines for India’s consumer-tech sector. Zomato alone made ₹83 crore from platform fees last year. For companies running on razor-thin margins, removing these “invisible revenues” hits EBITDA directly. That’s why the new law is as much about ethics as it is about economics.

Globally, India isn’t alone. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined Amazon $2.5 billion for Prime subscription traps, and the European Union’s Digital Services Act now bans manipulative interfaces altogether. What makes India unique is how quickly it’s operationalizing enforcement. The “Jagriti Dashboard” now lets users crowd-report deceptive UX patterns, turning public frustration into regulatory action.

Still, this cleanup comes with growing pains. Platforms warn that compliance costs could slow innovation, while removing micro-fees might push them to raise base prices. For example, Flipkart’s collection fees (about 2% of order value) covered real logistics costs. Making them transparent won’t erase those costs - it just changes who bears them. In the near term, that could mean smaller startups struggle with redesign costs while deep-pocketed players like Amazon, Flipkart, or Zomato adapt faster.

But in the long run, this might be a reset worth having. As India’s 500 million new internet users come online, trust-not trickery-will decide who wins. Ethical players like Zerodha, which never relied on hidden fees, suddenly find themselves rewarded in a market that’s revaluing honesty. Investors too are recalibrating - factoring regulatory risk and compliance maturity into startup valuations.

In simple terms, the message from policymakers is clear: fees aren’t banned, deception is. Companies can still charge for delivery, convenience, or handling - as long as they say it upfront. That’s the direction the world is heading in, and India is catching up fast.

Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

“Hindustan Meri Jaan”: Zoho Launches POS Device, Soundbox To Strengthen Fintech Offerings

Zoho is stepping deeper into fintech with a new suite of POS devices, including all-in-one terminals, smart POS, and QR soundboxes that talk back.

The Chennai-based SaaS giant is also linking Zoho Pay to its chat app Arattai, bringing payments straight into conversations. Alongside, it’s rolling out tools for payouts, virtual accounts, and marketplace settlements, all signs of Zoho quietly building its own fintech empire.

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“Thoda Le Deke Settle Karo Na”: Fino Payments Bank Settles Disclosure Lapse Cases With SEBI

Fino Payments Bank has closed its disclosure lapse case with SEBI by paying a settlement fee of ₹5.89 lakh.

The issue stemmed from delays and gaps in reporting key events, for which SEBI had issued a show-cause notice last October. Investors, however, seemed unbothered, the bank’s shares were up 3.45% at ₹309.25 on the BSE today.

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“Mai Chali Mai Chali”: Goldman Sachs Dumps More Eternal Shares Worth INR 266 Cr

Goldman Sachs has offloaded another chunk of Eternal, Zomato’s parent, selling 8.1 crore shares in a ₹266 crore block deal.

The shares were sold at ₹328.45 apiece, about 2% below the previous close of ₹335.05. It marks the latest in a series of exits by global investors looking to book profits after Zomato’s stellar market run.

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“Kar Chale Hum Vida”: Lending startup Niro shuts down operations

Fintech startup Niro is closing its doors after four and a half years, founder Aditya Kumar announced on social media. Despite raising around $20 million from big-name investors like Elevar Equity and GMO Venture Partners, the B2B2C lending platform couldn’t sustain operations.

Niro had helped consumer internet companies offer loans ranging from ₹50,000 to ₹7 lakh, with tenures of 6 to 72 months, and interest rates between 12% and 28%.

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“Hum Saath Saath Hai”: Groww Completes Acquisition Of Fisdom After SEBI Nod

IPO-bound Groww has officially acquired wealthtech platform Fisdom after getting the green light from SEBI.

The deal sets the stage for Groww’s new high-net-worth offering, 'W', and signals a bigger push into wealth management. Back in March, early talks had pegged Fisdom’s valuation at around $150 million, showing Groww is betting big on this expansion.

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1. The Medical Travel Company, founded by Dineout’s cofounders, has raised $4.5 million in a seed round led by Nexus Venture Partners. The funding will help the healthtech startup expand its medical tourism solutions, with backing from investors including Kriscore Capital and a slew of celebrity entrepreneurs.
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2. AI health companion startup August AI has raised $3 million in a seed round from Accel and Claypond Capital. Founded in 2022 by IIT-BHU alum Anuruddh Mishra, the platform offers a 24/7 AI health assistant on WhatsApp and app stores to help users navigate prescriptions and report.
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3. Bengaluru-based AI legal tech startup Lucio has raised $5 million in a seed round led by DeVC, with backing from Ashish Kacholia and Lashit Sanghvi. The funds will help Lucio expand its product suite, enhance AI-driven legal workflow personalization, and push for global adoption.
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4. KGen has raised $13.5 million from Prosus Ventures, Jump Crypto, and Accel to build a verified distribution protocol for AI companies. The Apros Labs-backed startup, founded in 2013, has now raised over $43.5 million and provides a blockchain-based user distribution layer for AI, DeFi, and gaming platforms.
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5. Contrails AI, a trust and safety-focused AI startup, has raised $1 million in a pre-seed round led by Huddle Ventures and IAN Group. Founded by Digvijay Singh and Amitabh Kumar, the startup aims to help internet companies navigate the challenges of the GenAI era.
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6. Venture Catalysts has led an $850,000 seed round in H2 Carbon Zero, a deep-tech startup building modular fuel-cell systems for stationary power. The funding, supported by Faad Networks, will help the company advance plans for a gigawatt-scale hydrogen fuel cell factory.
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7. TrusTerra, an AI-powered marketplace for used EVs, has raised Rs 9 crore in a pre-seed round led by Finvolve and India Accelerator. The funds will be used to expand its TruEV Score platform, scale its marketplace across major and Tier-2 cities, and strengthen partnerships with OEMs, banks, and dealers.
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8. ZillOut, an AI-powered SaaS platform for venue operations, has raised ₹2.75 crore in a seed round, bringing its total funding to ₹4.35 crore. Founded by Gaurav Sharma, Nayan Mishra, and Anshul Jhawar, the startup aims to modernize India’s $50+ billion going-out economy.
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