.png "Niyo has acquired Kanji Forex to strengthen its prepaid forex card business. With travel rebounding and regulatory backing, the move shows how fintechs are reshaping banking value chains.")
I’m Aadi, an MBA who has spent years toggling between marketing strategies and financial models. I’ve worked closely with fintech startups and watched how shifts in payments and banking ripple through entire industries. This perspective comes in handy when looking at moves like Niyo’s latest acquisition.
Summary:
When a digital banking startup buys a forex firm, it might look like a small niche play. But scratch the surface and you start seeing hints of a much larger ambition.
1. Niyo has acquired Kanji Forex, a Delhi based RBI licensed money changer.
2. Amit Talwar, formerly of IndusInd Bank, will now lead Niyo’s forex arm.
3. The deal strengthens Niyo’s position in prepaid forex cards, especially for travelers.
4. India’s outbound travel market is recovering fast and fueling demand for simple forex solutions.
5. The move shows how digital banks are competing with traditional lenders by owning entire customer journeys.
Think back to the last time you or someone you know scrambled at the airport to sort out forex. Long queues, paper slips, confusion about rates. That’s the world Kanji Forex has operated in for years. Niyo stepping in to acquire them changes the game, not just for travelers but for how fintechs position themselves in India’s financial ecosystem.
Appointing Amit Talwar as CEO of the forex business isn’t a throwaway headline either. He comes from IndusInd Bank where he led consumer banking and payments. That signals a serious intent to professionalize forex as a full-scale business vertical rather than just a value add for Niyo’s existing customers.
What stands out here is the timing. International travel from India has been rebounding sharply post-pandemic. Families are flying to Dubai for shopping trips, students are leaving for Europe and the US, and professionals are attending conferences in Singapore and London. Each of those journeys involves forex. Instead of letting customers walk into a bank branch or a local money changer, Niyo wants to be the default option right from the travel planning stage.
It’s a clever move because forex is sticky. Once a student gets a prepaid forex card loaded for their first semester abroad, chances are they’ll keep topping it up with the same provider. That means recurring revenue without having to reacquire the customer each time. Traditional banks have long relied on this stickiness. Niyo is now muscling into that territory.
Another angle here is compliance. Buying an RBI licensed firm like Kanji Forex gives Niyo a regulatory edge. Rather than chasing approvals from scratch, they now inherit an operational license that allows them to expand faster and offer new forex services legally and securely. For a fintech, where regulatory headaches can stall growth, that’s a valuable shortcut.
For students of business, there’s a bigger story underneath. Fintechs aren’t just about making apps look slick. They’re quietly rebuilding entire value chains that banks once owned. Think travel cards, insurance tie-ups, or even loans for tuition abroad. Acquisitions like this aren’t isolated deals. They’re puzzle pieces in a strategy to lock customers in across multiple needs.
5 Do’s and Don’ts for Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Students:
1. Do look at acquisitions as ways to fast-track regulatory approvals, not just expand customer base.
2. Do think about customer lifetime value. A single forex card user could stay with you for years.
3. Do notice timing. Aligning with travel recovery gives this move more power than in a flat market.
4. Don’t underestimate operational know-how. Running forex requires compliance, logistics, and global banking ties.
5. Don’t treat fintech as just app design. The real moat often lies in old-school licenses and infrastructure.