Competition-technology changing financial scenario, says Shah
The Fourth Industrial revolution will be shaped by India as it has all the Fintech ingredients to lead the way, according to Injeti Srinivas, Chairman, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
Creation of a world class fintech hub, as announced in the recent 2021-22 budget, also highlights the importance of fintech in India, Srinivas told the virtual ‘FICCI Fintech Expo 2021 and Conference – Showcasing Indian FinTechs to the World’ on 10 Mar 2021.
“IFSCA can act as the second engine of the Indian economy. It can be the external engine that will not only channelize global capital flow into India but also provide international jurisdiction to companies wanting to explore global markets,” he said.
The IFSCA, he emphasized, attaches huge importance to developing a fintech hub in India. “We want to be the frontrunners in this. Under the IFSCA, you (the industry) have a unified regulator who regulates all the segments of the financial sector. For fintech to have an international presence, this is another viable option,” added Mr Srinivas.
Technology is transcending the limitations of time, space, and cost and by nature it is democratic. There is no use of a technology if it is not easily accessible and affordable. “We are at the epicentre of making technology available, accessible and affordable and finance is the lifeblood of an economy. Technology and finance are common to all services,” said Srinivas.
He further emphasized that there is enormous potential in India but only a fraction of the economic transactions happens digitally. The government’s Direct Benefit Transfer scheme, Digital India, Start-up India, UPI initiatives have been a great trigger to this process combined with the talent at the grassroots level that made use of this opportunity.
“With government’s announcements and IFSCAs pro-active initiatives it is the right time that this opportunity should be tapped,” Srinivas pointed out.
Elsewhere, the banking industry is undergoing a transformation, according to Sunil Mehta, Chief Executive, IBA.
“Today, we are moving towards phygital and the future will witness digital banking system while more than 70% of the banking transactions are happening via digital mode,” he added.
India has become the fifth largest fintech investment destination in 2020, according to Rashesh Shah, Past President, FICCI and Chairman and CEO, Edelweiss Group, who pointed out that financial services in India is not about demand and supply, it is about the cost of supply.
Competition along with technology is changing the financial scenario in India, he added. #banking #financial #fintech #technology /fiinews.com
