Chinese smartphone giant OnePlus Technology India has come under regulatory scrutiny after its statutory auditor flagged serious bookkeeping irregularities, while fintech major Razorpay has made headlines by investing $30 million in consumer payments startup Pop, signaling a strategic push into India’s UPI-driven loyalty ecosystem.
📉 OnePlus Audit Flags Compliance Gaps
According to a recent audit by Shah & Jain Chartered Accountants, OnePlus India is facing multiple concerns, including:
- Hosting financial records on servers located in Dongguan, China
- Use of foreign-language accounting software, hindering verification
- Delays in depositing employee provident fund (PF) contributions
- Ongoing scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax Department under FEMA violations
OnePlus has responded by stating it is upgrading its IT systems and has begun clearing PF dues and disputed tax liabilities.
💸 Razorpay Backs Pop with $30 Million Investment
Meanwhile, Razorpay has led a $30 million funding round in Pop, a fast-growing UPI-based rewards platform founded by Bhargav Errangi. The app, launched in June 2024, has already crossed 1 million monthly active users and processes over 600,000 daily UPI transactions.
Pop’s unique value proposition lies in its “rewards-first” model, offering POPcoins—a multi-brand loyalty currency redeemable across partner merchants. The platform has also issued over 40,000 RuPay credit cards in partnership with Yes Bank.
“India doesn’t need another cashback-only app. With Razorpay’s support, we aim to build a loyalty-first payments ecosystem,” said Pop CEO Bhargav Errangi.
This investment aligns with Razorpay’s broader strategy to deepen its presence in the D2C and loyalty commerce space, following its earlier acquisition of PoshVine.
