Intellect design arena Limited has completed the allotment of 87,561 equity shares under its Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOP) on January 28, 2026. The allotment was approved by the Stakeholders Relationship Committee of the Board of Directors through a circular resolution, marking another milestone in the company's employee incentive programs.

ESOP Allotment Details

The share allotment was executed under two distinct employee stock option schemes operated by the company:

The shares were allotted to eligible employees who exercised their options granted under these schemes. Both schemes had an exercise price of ₹5/- per share with no premium charged.

Impact on Share Capital

Following this allotment, the company's capital structure has been updated significantly:

The newly issued equity shares will rank pari-passu with the existing equity shares, ensuring equal rights and privileges for all shareholders.

Regulatory Compliance

The company had previously obtained necessary in-principle approvals from both stock exchanges for these ESOP schemes:

The allotment complies with Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, and detailed information has been provided under Regulation 10(c) of SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2021.

Share Characteristics

The allotted shares carry the ISIN number INE306R01017 and are issued in demat form. No lock-in period applies to these shares, and no listing fees are payable for this allotment. The shares are identical in all respects to the existing equity shares of the company and will be available for trading on both NSE and BSE where the company's shares are listed.

Intellect Design Arena announced on January 27, 2026, the acceleration of its US market expansion with what it describes as the world's only AI-first payments platform. The global financial technology company is positioning itself to help banks capture growth in the instant payments market as demand accelerates across the United States.

Market Opportunity and Competitive Landscape

The revenue opportunity from US real-time payments is projected to reach $2 billion by 2030, growing at a 40% annual rate. Market research indicates that 86% of businesses demand instant payments, while 33% are willing to switch banks to gain access to these capabilities. Despite this demand, nearly two-thirds of banks have not joined instant payment networks, creating opportunities for institutions willing to modernize their payment systems.

AI-First Technology Platform

Intellect's AI-First Payments Platform applies intelligence directly across the payment lifecycle, powered by Purple Fabric, the company's Open Business Impact AI-First platform. Unlike traditional bolt-on AI approaches that rely on post-transaction analytics, AI models operate at critical pre- and in-flight decision points to support anomaly detection, exception prediction, and operational decisioning. This approach is designed to reduce latency, minimize reconciliation overhead, and improve operational predictability as payment volumes increase.

The platform provides unified orchestration across major US payment networks, including TCH RTP, the FedNow Service, ACH, Fedwire, and SWIFT. Built on Intellect's eMACH.ai principles and Pay9 architecture, the platform integrates with existing cores, channels, and operational systems, enabling incremental modernization rather than large-scale replacement.

Current Market Position and Infrastructure Investment

Intellect currently serves 18 banks and 176 credit unions across North America, including several of the world's largest financial institutions. The company reports being trusted by 8 of 10 top North American banks and 500+ institutions globally.

The company has made strategic acquisitions, including Central 1 Credit Union's digital banking operations covering 170+ institutions and 140+ employees in Canada. Intellect recently appointed Rakesh Srivastava, a financial services executive with two decades of experience including leading AWS's $1.6B+ Americas portfolio, as President and Chief Revenue Officer for the Americas.

Executive Commentary

Manish Maakan, Executive President & Group Chief Revenue Officer and CEO - Wholesale Banking at Intellect Design Arena, stated that banks face a choice between leading payment transformation or risking being outpaced by competitors. He emphasized that as real-time payments scale, incremental upgrades are no longer sufficient, and banks need AI-first payment platforms designed for regulated banking environments that combine speed, resilience, and operational intelligence without adding complexity.