Public market investors, however, are becoming more selective across fintech segments. While payments remains a large-scale opportunity, it is increasingly viewed as a base-layer business unless companies demonstrate monetisation beyond transaction volumes

India’s fintech sector is gearing up for a fresh wave of initial public offerings in 2026, as several late-stage platforms prepare to tap public markets after a prolonged reset phase marked by tighter capital and regulatory scrutiny.

After a funding boom in 2021-22 and a subsequent slowdown, investors say the sector has entered a more mature phase, defined by stronger unit economics, clearer compliance frameworks and a renewed appetite for quality listings. “The last two years were a reality check,” said Ajay Jain, founder and managing partner, Silver Needle Ventures. “Growth slowed, capital became selective, and companies were forced to focus on fundamentals. As a result, many late-stage fintechs are now in a much stronger position to approach public markets,” he said.

Market conditions have also turned favourable. According to industry executives, improved liquidity in the primary markets and the successful performance of listed fintech peers have helped reset investor expectations. “This cycle is very different from the funding-boom era, when valuations were often detached from profitability,” said Pratip Majumdar, co-founder and partner, Inflexor Ventures. “The current crop of IPO-bound fintechs has gone through a clear path-to-profitability pivot, with investors now rewarding clean unit economics, operating leverage and regulatory readiness,” he said.

Cautious mood

Public market investors, however, are becoming more selective across fintech segments. While payments remains a large-scale opportunity, it is increasingly viewed as a base-layer business unless companies demonstrate monetisation beyond transaction volumes. Lending and insurance-led platforms, by contrast, are attracting stronger interest due to clearer revenue visibility and improving regulatory clarity. Majumdar noted that “investors are gravitating toward models where profitability is structurally visible and regulatory risk is capped,” adding that asset-light and distribution-led platforms are being valued more favourably.

Valuation expectations, too, have shifted closer to public-market benchmarks. “Investors today are underwriting fintech IPOs on earnings quality rather than narratives,” said Arpit Beri, Managing partner, Jungle Ventures. He added that anchor investors are closely scrutinising revenue quality, margins and return ratios, leading to more moderate and realistic pricing at listing.

Beri said the transition to public markets is also reinforcing discipline across the ecosystem. “Public markets are a credible source of long-term capital for scaled fintechs, but they come with higher expectations on governance and delivery,” he said, adding that only “battle-tested” businesses with regulatory clarity and strong balance sheets are making the cut.

Investors believe this IPO cycle could have a broader spillover effect. “Preparing for public markets naturally pushes companies to be more disciplined with capital and clearer on monetisation,” Jain said, calling the shift “a healthy development” for India’s fintech ecosystem.

Published on January 21, 2026