FinTech Mergers and Acquisitions in India: Rethinking Competition and Regulatory Oversight in the Age of AI

This paper explores the need for a contestation and regulation framework in India to meet the pace of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the FinTech sector in view of the growth of financial innovation powered by AI. The question we raise: How can Indian competition law and financial regulation evolve to make digital finance competitive and accountable? To tackle this, we have conducted doctrinal and comparative analysis of contemporary law, and recent reform and case studies. The point is identified as a key gap: traditional thresholds for mergers are not always sufficient to encompass “killer acquisitions” of young, promising FinTech companies by established incumbents, particularly with respect to AI and “data” technologies. This is a significant move to bridge this gap with the new “deal value threshold” (DVT) framework for global acquisitions more than ₹2,000 crore, subject to the approval of the CCI, which mandates approval of the acquisition, when the target has significant operations in India. However, there are some questions that need to be addressed: What constitutes “substantial operations?” and, of course, AI and data analytics issues await further clarity. Our literature review and legal analysis include legal and policy provisions of the Competition Act 2002/2023; the Competition Commission of India (CCI) Reports and Regulations; SEBI and RBI reports and policy papers on FinTech/AI; and important developments from international regulatory bodies. We provide an analysis of Indian and EU/US legal frameworks and examine transaction value tests used in Germany and HSR filing thresholds, as well as new antitrust principles on anticompetitive acquisitions in the US. FinTech, Kill Zone Acquisitions, Mergers & Acquisitions, Regulatory Reform, India.