New tech on the block: Fintech, Agtech, Trading, Workspace-as-a-Service & Lab Grown Jewelry

The Tech Panda takes a look at recent tech launches.

Fintech: First-of-Its-Kind Forex Card with Single-Currency and 30-Currency Flexibility

GlobalPay, a global payments platform for leisure, students, and corporate travellers, launched the GlobalPay Smart Switch Forex Card, a first-of-its-kind prepaid forex card that enables travellers to start with a single currency and seamlessly switch across up to 30 global currencies on the same card through the GlobalPay app or website, eliminating the need for multiple cards, paperwork or card replacements.

Srikrishna Narasimhan, CEO & Whole-Time Director, GlobalPay, said, “As international leisure travel from India continues to surge, with outbound travel expected to cross 50 million trips by 2030, travellers are increasingly seeking simpler and more flexible ways to manage payments abroad. Traditional forex cards require travellers to plan currencies, which often creates friction during a global journey. The GlobalPay Smart Switch Forex Card is designed to remove that complexity by enabling seamless switching across multiple currencies on a single card. Our objective is to give global travellers greater control, transparency, and convenience while managing their international spending. As cross-border mobility increases, we believe solutions that combine flexibility, digital control, and cost efficiency will define the next phase of travel payments.”

FEATURES

• Zero Cross-Currency Fees
• Load in USD and spend in local currencies
• Clear visibility of spends and balance via the GlobalPay App
• Tap-and-pay contactless transactions
• Access 30+ currencies across 180+ countries, ranging from major currencies such as USD, Euro, CAD, and Pound to select exotic currencies including Vietnam (VND), Japan (JPY), Azerbaijan (AZN), Indonesia (IDR), New Zealand (NZD), Korea (KRW), and beyond.
• Smart Currency Management eliminates the need for multiple cards
• Instant currency wallet 2 wallet transfer via GlobalPay App
• Tap-and-pay contactless transactions
• Users can switch to a Multi-Currency wallet supporting 30 currencies, eliminating the need to issue or carry separate forex cards for different currencies or destinations.
• Enables ATM withdrawals, e-commerce transactions, and cash advances globally, allowing travellers to manage multiple international payment needs through a single card.

Agtech: Second Mobile Soil Testing Van to expand its Soil Health Management services to Farmers

Matix Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited, promoted by Nishant Kanodia, introduced its second Mobile Soil Testing Van (MSTV) aimed at strengthening soil health and empowering farmers through science driven agricultural support. The MSTV was flagged off from the company’s Principal Marketing Office in Noida last week.

Manoj Mishra, Managing Director, Matix Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited. said, “Timely soil testing is a key step towards balanced nutrient use and improved crop productivity. Our advanced laboratory on wheels will primarily serve farmers across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, providing on spot soil health report card and recommending crop/ soil specific fertiliser usage basis soil health analysis. With our 2nd Mobile Soil Testing Van, we are taking our support beyond fertiliser supply to deliver actionable insights that help farmers optimise input usage, increase yields, and improve long-term soil fertility.”

FEATURES

• Equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to perform advanced soil analysis
• Equipped with full power backup, including a mobile generator power and internet connectivity, a laptop and printers for providing hard copies of soil reports.
• All soil testing and advisory services provided through the MSTV van are completely free of cost for farmers.
• To ensure clarity and accessibility, Soil Health Cards are provided in local languages, enabling farmers to better understand and implement the recommendations effectively
• A qualified Agricultural Scientist has been appointed to operate the MSTV and provide professional guidance to farmers on importance of interpretation of soil health card and provide the crop specific fertilizer recommendations

Fintech: BSE SmallCap 500 Market Cap & Factor Indices

BSE Index Services Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of BSE, launched BSE SmallCap 500 Index C 4 new Factor Indices based on the BSE SmallCap 500 Index universe. These are reconstituted quarterly, have a base value of 1000, and the first value date is 19th September 2005 along with the additional screening of 90% Stock Trading Frequency.

Ashutosh Singh, MD C CEO of BSE Index Services Pvt. Ltd., highlighted the significance of these indices, stating, “The launch of the BSE SmallCap 500 Universe Factor Indices marks an important expansion of our factor-based index offerings. This index family provides transparent and rules-based benchmarks designed to capture key equity factors across India’s Small-Cap segment by incorporating distinct factor strategies such as Quality, Value, Momentum and Low Volatility. These indices aim to support product innovation and offer asset managers and institutional investors efficient tools to access differentiated small-cap factor exposures within the broader equity market.”

FEATURES

• Can be used for running passive strategies such as ETFs and Index Funds.
• Can be used for benchmarking of PMS strategies, MF schemes and fund portfolio.

Workspace-as-a-Service: End-to-End Design & Build Platform for Enterprises & End-Users

WeWork India Management Limited (“WeWork India”), an Indian premium flexible workspace operators, launched Rivet by WeWork India – a design & build platform delivering integrated, experience-led, customised workspaces tailored to the unique needs of enterprises and end users – backed by a proven large-scale operating footprint and expertise. The launch comes at a defining moment for India’s commercial office market. As enterprise expansion accelerates, GCCs scale rapidly, and workplace strategies grow more complex, the demand for execution certainty is rising — a need the fragmented, multi-vendor design and build (D&B) ecosystem has struggled to meet. Built on WeWork India’s extensive experience designing, delivering, and operating commercial workspaces across industries and businesses of all sizes, from global enterprises to high-growth startups, Rivet introduces a fundamentally distinct model to the market: a single contract, unified accountability, and end-to-end delivery from concept to commissioning.

Karan Virwani, Managing Director & CEO, WeWork India, said, “India’s workplace landscape is evolving rapidly. Over the past eight years, we have built deep insight into how enterprises operate and how workspace shapes performance, while designing, evaluating, and operating over 8.2 million square feet across markets. Working with businesses of varying scale and sizes, and a broad partner ecosystem has given us real-time understanding of what truly drives workplace success. Rivet brings that experience together into an integrated platform by combining behavioural insight, operational depth, and execution capability. It is built to deliver premium commercial workspaces that perform at scale, with the precision and confidence that enterprises demand.”

FEATURES

• An integrated, governance-led delivery model that combines unified ownership with full lifecycle visibility.
• Powered by BIM-led planning, real-time site monitoring, and structured financial governance, offering enterprise clients the transparency and delivery performance that the traditional D&B model has struggled to provide.
• Reflects WeWork India’s broader vision to build a comprehensive workspace-as-a-service ecosystem, and over time, extend into infrastructure-as-a-service – removing friction points for enterprises as they scale.

Lab Grown Jewelry: Women-Led Foray into Lab Grown Diamond Jewelry

Ekatra Retail Ventures, co-founded by Pavitra Gandhi, Sunny Sakaria, Sussanne Khan, Vasuki Punj, and Chirayu Yardi, debuted in the world of lab-grown diamond jewelry with Shristi Ratna, a diamond crafted with 108 facets, symbolizing a cosmic journey. Spearheaded by a strong female vision, the launch signals the start of a thoughtfully curated, women-led journey in accessible luxury and lifestyle.

Pavitra Gandhi from Ekatra Retail Ventures shared, “Partnering with Sunny Sakaria, Vasuki Punj, and Chirayu Yardi marks the beginning of an incredibly exciting journey for us. Bringing Sussanne Khan on board as Creative Director has been one of our most defining decisions, a reflection of our shared commitment to innovation, bold creativity, and delivering truly disruptive experiences in the world of jewellery.”

FEATURES

• Distinct story-led collections reflecting individual journeys and creative interpretations
• Official website was launched on 8 th March 2026, inviting audiences into an immersive digital experience that brings to life the philosophy, artistry, and collections behind the concept.