PNS | HYDERABAD
This techpreneur and media marketing maverick has been shaking up digital payments and fintech for over two decades. With a reputation for innovative solutions and strategic partnerships, Rohit Mahajan, co-founder of plutosONE, has transformed the game—partnering with top banks and brands to drive growth and revolutionise the industry. He doesn’t play it safe—he pushes boundaries and sets new standards.
You’ve created connections between the media, finance, and technology industries—three fields that frequently work independently. Which fundamental idea has helped you bring these worlds together in a meaningful way?
The magic happens when media, finance and tech unite instead of clash. While fintech is revolutionising access, most implementation is still city-centric. The next big leap is bringing fintech to India’s heartland. Here, media becomes a bridge—driving awareness and influencing behaviour. Take UPI—it recorded 16.11 billion transactions worth Rs 24.77 trillion in March 2025. Yet, over 67% of India still struggles with digital payment literacy. FASTag simplified tolls, but acceptance remains uneven in rural and semi-urban areas. In 2024, BBPS (now Bharat Connect) processed 2.2 billion transactions worth Rs 7.7 lakh crore—double the previous year. Yet, less than 30% of bills are paid online. Bharat Connect TSP isn’t just building infrastructure—it’s solving a critical need: enabling Bharat to pay digitally, in their language, on their terms. We see silos as spaces where impact waits to be made. Our idea is simple: media makes it human, finance makes it strong and tech makes it possible.
How do you keep coming up with new and unique solutions for banks and brands in a time when digital payments are becoming more and more common?
As digital payments become commoditised, differentiation lies in ecosystems offering contextual, scalable value. We’re reimagining financial access, not just enabling payments. Bharat Connect is building new-age infrastructure—because fintech is now the engine of financial inclusion. Our AI-powered systems are redefining speed, compliance and precision across BBPS. Our proprietary biller onboarding platform, the most advanced in the industry, cuts integration from weeks to days, ensuring error-free setups. We aim to onboard 50,000 merchants next year through automation and intelligent workflows. With AI integrated into BBPS’s core, we’re improving settlements, reliability and customer experience. BBPS is now a strategic customer engagement tool, not just backend compliance. Plug-and-play APIs, vernacular interfaces and real-time analytics give banks control over biller relationships—not just transactions.
What are some of the most difficult private discussions you’ve had as a result of working with industry titans like NPCI, IDFC and HDFC?
Working with NPCI is rewarding, fast-paced and unpredictable—like a roller coaster. We’ve worked with them since 2018. Their growth with UPI, RuPay, BBPS and FASTag is spectacular. But keeping pace isn’t for the faint-hearted. Their culture is rooted in a deep love for Bharat. Our toughest discussions revolved around timing, scalability and aligning with the mission of serving 1.4 billion people. Leaders at NPCI, IDFC, HDFC, BOI and PNB never settle—they push for bolder ideas, faster delivery and deeper Bharat-first thinking. I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about ease—it’s about staying uncomfortable with the status quo. You can’t expect a smooth ride with giants, but that’s where purpose, agility and resilience emerge. Innovation is no longer a buzzword in banking—it’s the baseline. To earn a seat at the table, you need velocity, vision and a Bharat-centric mindset.
In your opinion, how should the upcoming generation of digital payment solutions change to overcome consumer skepticism?
India isn’t just growing—it’s setting global benchmarks. In March 2025 alone, BBPS enabled Rs 1.23 lakh crore in bill payments across 260 million transactions. UPI handled over 16.11 billion transactions worth Rs 24.77 trillion. But scale invites scrutiny. The next currency is digital trust. We must acknowledge the digital divide. Tech fatigue, limited financial literacy and language gaps are real. The next-gen fintech must be safer, simpler and more relatable. NPCI’s move to show only verified bank names on UPI screens is a powerful step—it prevents fraud by eliminating fake display names. That’s how digital trust evolves: front-end transparency + back-end security. Our approach mirrors this. We’re building multilingual, intuitive tech that educates and empowers users. Trust isn’t about patching cracks—it’s about rebuilding the foundation with empathy, accountability and clarity.
When you knew the venture had really transitioned from survival to scale, was there a turning point?
Becoming India’s biggest BBPS TSP isn’t a milestone—it’s a movement. We’ve always believed true innovation means building for all, not just the top 2%. Enough fintechs chase the urban elite. We’re bringing Bharat into the digital mainstream—a tougher but more rewarding mission. From the start, we focused on underserved markets—education, government services, donations and offline ecosystems like CSCs. We’re helping cooperative banks, PSUs and small finance institutions digitise. Yes, we’ve scaled—we onboard big clients, use AI-powered tools and integrate multilingual tech. But building for Bharat means new challenges daily. Every milestone is both a win and a reminder of how far we have to go. We’re not chasing vanity metrics—we’re laying infrastructure. The defining moment isn’t behind us—it’s the one we’re creating next. When your goal is bold, survival becomes your fuel.
How has your experience in the media influenced the way you approach fostering confidence in financial technology?
Working in the media taught me to pace with purpose. At Zee News and UTV Bloomberg, the environment was chaotic, fast and always on. You learn to adapt without losing truth or trust. That mindset deeply informs my work in fintech. Fintech moves fast too—but the stakes are higher. Compliance is the fine print, innovation the headline—and they must coexist. Whether working with banks or customers, the expectation is the same: move fast, but move right. Media taught me to value substance over speed. Systems need stories. Vision needs verification. In fintech, where trust is everything, my media lens reminds me that reputation is built on character—not just code.
Could you describe a collaboration you made that, looking back, changed the course of your business or career?
Strategic partnerships can seem small at first—like chess moves—but they change the game. For us, it was partnering with NPCI to launch the Instant Gratification Program for banks. That collaboration didn’t just create one product—it reshaped our entire strategy. We evolved from a service company into a full-stack finance provider with enterprise-grade tech and fast scalability. We built India’s largest Brand Offers Platform for banks, helping HDFC, BOB, PNB, IDFC and others drive digital adoption with curated UPI and RuPay promotions. This gave us two big wins: expertise in consumer behaviour and a blueprint for scale. Our merchant onboarding engine today runs on our experience managing brand relationships. From scaling transactions to expanding India’s digital bill payment network, we operate with precision—backed by 14+ years of strategic collaboration. That one partnership expanded our vision and scaled our impact.
What, in your opinion, constitutes responsible disruption in a highly regulated industry such as fintech?
Uncontrolled disruption causes chaos, but in India’s fintech space, responsible disruption is vital. It means unlocking opportunity without sacrificing trust, security or inclusion. From Jan Dhan to UPI, India has shown that innovation under guidance can transform finance. Responsible disruption requires hard questions: Are we serving the unbanked? Are we prioritising literacy alongside growth? Are we pushing for speed or for trust? With nearly 70% of Indians still hesitant about complex digital payments, the answer must be inclusive growth. India’s Bharat economy must feel as empowered as its urban counterpart. That’s what true, responsible fintech progress looks like—not disruption for a few, but transformation for all.
How do you personally maintain your focus on long-term strategic objectives while keeping up with the swift changes in consumer behavior and technology?
Staying ahead in tech isn’t optional—it’s critical. But innovation must align with long-term vision. We’ve built systems that ensure both agility and stability. Our tech teams work closely with partners—banks, billers, NPCI—to co-create solutions aligned with BBPS. With global players like Google and Uber, we’ve developed advanced cloud infrastructure, ensuring best practices in resilience, security and scale. The formula is simple: stay compliant, solve real problems, and build tech that moves faster than user expectations. That’s how we stay ahead—with clarity and precision.
What would your ideal ecosystem look like if you could reimagine the future of digital payments without any of the current limitations, whether they be technological, legal, or cultural?
I’d build a borderless, radically inclusive system. One where security, speed and compliance are integrated—not traded off. Regulations would evolve alongside innovation. Financial literacy and access would be democratised—especially for underserved groups like women entrepreneurs in rural Bharat. Every transaction would teach—making payments a moment of empowerment. Complete interoperability—across currencies, banks, apps and borders—would be the norm. Users would control their own data. AI would enhance and protect every experience. And trust wouldn’t just be a slogan—it’d be built into the system. Because this isn’t just about better payments. It’s about making finance more human. India isn’t just building for itself—we’re setting the global standard for fintech.
