Snapdeal Joins YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program to Power Creator-Led Commerce

Partnership enables creators to recommend millions of value-first fashion and lifestyle products to shoppers across India through shoppable video content

Value fashion-focused e-commerce platform, Snapdeal, today announced its partnership with YouTube as part of the YouTube Shopping affiliate program in India. Through this collaboration, eligible creators will be able to tag and recommend products available on Snapdeal directly within their YouTube videos, Shorts and livestreams, allowing viewers to seamlessly discover products and make purchase decisions while consuming content.

The partnership builds on Snapdeal's long-standing engagement with thousands of creators across India to help shoppers discover trendy fashion and lifestyle products through authentic, relatable content.

The YouTube Shopping affiliate program enables creators to earn commissions by tagging products featured in their content. Through the integration, eligible creators can browse products listed on Snapdeal, tag them directly in their videos, Shorts and livestreams, and earn affiliate commissions on qualifying purchases. Viewers can seamlessly move from content to checkout, creating a frictionless shopping experience.

Influencer-led commerce is one of the leading drivers of social commerce in India, where creators leverage their connection with their audiences to generate discovery, evaluation and conversion for online channels.

For Snapdeal sellers, the program opens up a new avenue to reach millions of highly engaged consumers through authentic creator recommendations, helping drive discovery and sales.

With more than 80% of its orders originating from non-metro India and the majority of products priced below ₹599, Snapdeal is uniquely positioned to help creators connect their audiences with stylish, affordable products that resonate with India's value-conscious shoppers. The partnership also expands opportunities for brands and sellers on Snapdeal to leverage the growing influence of creator commerce.

Commenting on the partnership, Achint Setia, CEO, Snapdeal, said: "Creators have become one of the most powerful drivers of product discovery in India today. At Snapdeal, we've been working closely with thousands of creators to help GenZ shoppers discover value fashion and lifestyle products they love. Our partnership with YouTube Shopping takes this further by making the journey from discovery to purchase far more seamless. It creates exciting new opportunities for creators to monetize their influence, for sellers to reach highly engaged audiences, and for shoppers across Bharat to discover great products with just a few taps."

Gunjan Soni, Country Managing Director, YouTube India, said: "We're excited to welcome Snapdeal to the YouTube Shopping affiliate program in India. Shopping on YouTube is built on the foundation of trusted recommendations from creators, helping viewers discover products in engaging ways. By bringing Snapdeal's extensive assortment of value fashion and lifestyle products into the program, we're expanding opportunities for creators to earn while turning authentic inspiration into a seamless, accessible shopping journey for Indian consumers."

By integrating with the YouTube Shopping affiliate program, Snapdeal is taking the next step in making the shopping journey even more seamless, enabling viewers to move effortlessly from inspiration to purchase while viewing the content they love.

Pine Labs to Deploy 10 Lakh Soundboxes, Driving UPI Expansion Beyond Small‑Ticket Payments

As digital payments move beyond small ticket transactions, Pine Labs today announced a strategic investment to deploy 10 lakh Soundboxes across India. The investment is aimed at strengthening digital payments infrastructure in India.

This development reflects a broader evolution in India's digital payments ecosystem as UPI and other digital payment modes gain traction beyond everyday low-ticket transactions. Through the planned deployment, Pine Labs also aims to improve UPI penetration into new markets and business segments.

“With new monetization levers emerging, we want to walk the talk by investing back into the ecosystem and deepen digital payments adoption. Pine Labs' commitment to deploy 10 lakh soundboxes reflects our belief that sustainable economics and financial inclusion can reinforce each other,” said B Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine Labs.

Built on cloud-first architecture, the soundboxes enable merchants to receive real-time audio confirmation of the payment transaction. The platform supports remote device management, over-the-air software updates, and centralized monitoring, helping merchants scale their payment infrastructure efficiently as transaction volumes grow.

The rollout will support businesses as they participate in India's next wave of digital commerce growth.

About Pine Labs Limited

Pine Labs Limited is a technology company building the Commerce OS that powers digital commerce across South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and the United States. Pine Labs' platform connects merchants, enterprises, financial institutions, and consumers through a unified suite of payments, issuing, credit, and fintech solutions. Serving businesses across online and in-store commerce.

Pine Labs simplifies payments, enables financial services, and creates seamless commerce experiences. Its Commerce OS combines financial platforms, payment orchestration, issuing capabilities, prepaid and stored value solutions, and payment and credit rails, enabling businesses to move money, create customer value, and deliver increasingly intelligent commerce experiences, at scale.

As commerce becomes increasingly real-time, intelligent, and embedded, Pine Labs is building the technology infrastructure that powers the next generation of digital commerce.

To know more, please visit www.pinelabs.com

India to Pioneer Agentic AI Payments on UPI, Redefining Digital Commerce

India is set to unveil the Unified Agent Protocol next week at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, enabling AI agents to autonomously make small UPI payments under preset rules. This would make India one of the first countries with national infrastructure for agentic AI-powered payments.

According to the reports citing Reuters and other media outlets, the Unified Agent Protocol (UAP) is expected to be unveiled at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai next week.

Key Highlights

• Framework Name: Unified Agent Protocol (UAP)
• Launch Timeline: Expected announcement at Global Fintech Fest, Mumbai (next week)
• Operator: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
• LHow Agentic AI Payments Will Work

• ) Delegated Authority: Builds on UPI Circle, allowing account holders to delegate playment authority to AI agents.
• Reserve Pay Integration: Lets customers block funds for multiple debits (currently capped at ₹10,000 for 90 days, limits may be revised).

Early Use Cases

• Groceries & Daily Purchases: Frequent, low-value transactions will be the first applications.
• E-commerce Platforms: Positioned to capture early demand by automating routine purchases.
• Future Sophistication: AI agents could place orders based on discounts/sale offers or even make investments at specified price thresholds.

Global Context

• Similar frameworks already exist in US, Europe, Singapore, and Australia.
• India’s rollout would make it a global pioneer in agentic commerce, leveraging UPI’s unmatched transaction scale.

Risks & Challenges

• Trust & Accountability: AI agents must be verified and registered to prevent misuse.
• Banking Limits: Current debit block caps may restrict adoption unless revised.
• Liability Framework: NPCI is expected to introduce rules for disputes, but details remain undisclosed.

Quick Comparison

Feature	India (UPI)	Global (US/EU/SG/AU)
Scale	24.5B monthly transactions	Smaller networks
Framework	Unified Agent Protocol	Proprietary company-led
Use Cases	Groceries, e-commerce, investments	Shopping, subscriptions
Trust Layer	NPCI verification, audit trails	Company-specific checks

Infosys Ordered to Liquidate Its Subsidiary Skava, A Digital Commerce Firm It Acquired for $120 Mn

Skava Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Infosys Ltd., was recently liquidated by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) effective from November 14, 2024.

The liquidation of Skava Pvt. Ltd. was ordered by the NCLT. Infosys received a certified copy of the order on November 28, 20241. The NCLT's decision was based on Skava's reclassification from "held for sale" status in 2019 and its net worth of Rs 2.72 crore as of March 31, 2024.

Infosys shares fell by 3.53% following the announcement of Skava's liquidation.

Infosys had initially acquired Skava, a digital commerce firm, for $120 million in 2015 as part of its strategy to enhance digital experiences for clients. However, plans to sell the firm were eventually abandoned, and its assets were repurposed its business as they didn't expect a sale to materialize.

Skava Pvt. Ltd. was a digital commerce firm acquired by Infosys in 2015 for $120 million. The company specialized in providing digital experience solutions for the retail industry. Infosys acquired Skava as part of its strategy to enhance digital experiences for clients through IP-led technology offerings.

Infosys took a cumulative write-off of Rs 451 crore for Skava, including Rs 358 crore towards goodwill and Rs 93 crore towards the value of customer relationships.

Skava Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 2002, by Arish Ali and Arvind Parthasarathy. The company initially focused on providing modern e-commerce capabilities to business clients, offering modular microservices architecture and rich front-end applications.

Skava was primarily backed by accelerator/incubator programs before being acquired by Infosys.

FedEx Integrates WhatsApp Notifications into Digital E-Commerce Delivery Solution for Indian Consumers

Integration of WhatsApp in FedEx® Delivery Manager International makes last-mile delivery even easier

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world's largest express transportation company, is enhancing its services with delivery notifications and personalized options now available on WhatsApp. The integration of one of the world’s most popular instant messaging apps into the FedEx® Delivery Manager International (FDMi) e-commerce solution is launched in India.

FDMi is an interactive e-commerce delivery solution that provides customizable delivery options and alerts. E-tailers using the solution can offer their customers the ability to pick the timing and location of their deliveries to fit their schedule – and change the delivery address when the shipment is in transit – giving them extra flexibility at no extra cost.

The WhatsApp instant messaging social media platform has 2 billion active monthly users globally. Over 80% of the population over the age of 16 in India, use it, and for 96% of users it‘s the most favored social media platform. With such high penetration, the integration of WhatsApp into FDMi makes it a much more effective solution for e-tailers to offer to their shoppers.

Recipients expecting inbound deliveries receive a WhatsApp notification from FedEx upon shipment pickup. FedEx uses a META-verified WhatsApp business account which helps mitigate the risk of recipients responding to scams perpetrated on WhatsApp using the FedEx brand. Recipients can message and chat with FedEx directly as well as access tracking status and re-direct options with the click of a button directly in the WhatsApp chat window.

“We know that consumers have an increasing preference for personalized delivery services. Integrating social platforms of choice like WhatsApp into our digital solutions gives an added boost to the convenience we can offer to e-commerce customers,” said Salil Chari, senior vice president, Marketing and Customer Experience, AMEA. “This service enhancement that allows two-way engagement is another example of how we are working at the intersection of our digital and physical networks to create differentiated, customer-centric service experiences.”

The integration of WhatsApp into FDMi is a win-win for all participants in the e-commerce ecosystem. In an increasingly competitive online marketplace, FDMi helps e-tailers, especially SMEs, provide a differentiated service offer. Customers get more peace of mind through the traceability of their package on their mobile device, as well as an enhanced online shopping experience. It also helps FedEx minimize delivery attempts to recipients who may not be at the registered delivery address.

About FedEx Express

FedEx Express is the world's largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable delivery to more than 220 countries and territories. FedEx Express uses a global air-and-ground network to speed the delivery of time-sensitive shipments by a definite time and date.

Learn more about the latest insights in the logistics industry, please visit:

FedEx Business Insights Hub
LinkedIn FedEx Go Global