March 27, 2019
India is one of the fastest growing fintech markets globally, with 60% of retail and SME credit expected to be digitally disbursed by 2029
Government’s Digital India mission and its commitment to greater financial inclusion has given the nation’s fintech sector its biggest push
The event noted the need to evolve regulations keeping in mind the need of India’s 450 million millennials to access institutional credit
The fintech growth is driven by a steady rise in the count of smartphone users with the number expected to double to 500 million by 2020
National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog, on March 25 organised a FinTech Conclave in New Delhi to further drive activity in one of the world’s largest and fastest growing markets for financial technology. The event was attended by over 300 stakeholders from across the Government, banking and investment sectors as well as from the startup space, who discussed the future of fintech innovation and financing. The Government’s Digital India mission and its commitment to greater financial inclusion has given the fintech sector its biggest push, leading to heightened activity surrounding tech innovation and project financing interest from around the world. As a result, the number of merchants accepting digital payments has recorded a spike in the recent years. This has also driven up indegenous innovation.
India is one of the fastest growing fintech markets globally and industry research has projected that US$1 trillion or 60 per cent of retail and SME credit, will be digitally disbursed by 2029. Inaugurating the event, Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, aid that fintech has the potential to reshape the financial services landscape in India “in fundamental ways.” He added that by enabling technologies and managing risks, India can create an improved financial system which is more inclusive, cost-effective and resilient. Discussion at the event noted the need to evolve regulatory and policy paradigms keeping in mind the need of India’s nearly 450 million millennials to access institutional credit. This has called for usages of new-gen technologies in fintech such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, among others.
The Indian fintech ecosystem is the third largest in the world. The sector is creating cutting edge IP assets in advanced risk management and AI that will advance India in the global digital economy while enabling paperless access to finance for every Indian. The event focused on various dimensions of future fintech – 1) Digital on-boarding of customers, merchants for financial inclusion; 2) Building financial products for Bharat; 3) Emerging areas of fintech; 4) Fast tracking investment in fintech industry; 5) Financial inclusion of MSMEs. At the event, a dedicated group on fast tracking investment in the fintech sector outlined the need for open banking in India, along with a new subclass of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) exclusively for fintech companies to encourage innovation, while expanding scope for investor capital.