New Delhi, July 10 -- For Dreamfolks, the last few months have been nothing short of a nightmare. Following a service disruption in September 2024 that invited a legal threat, there were reports that banks and credit-card companies could be looking to partner directly with lounge operators. In effect, they would cut out the middleman, Dreamfolks.

This appears to be already playing out, based on an announcement by the company earlier this month. Dreamfolks announced the closure of programs for Axis Bank and ICICI Bank, effective 1 July. While the contracts with these banks are still valid, migration of certain card types to emerging competition stands to materially impact Dreamfolks' financials. Even institutional investors' confidence in...