India has developed a unique and robust infrastructure to support the incubation and growth of FinTech over the past five years. JAM (Jan Dhan Aadhaar & Mobile), Trinity, Esign & a Digital Locker are key assets for FinTechs looking to expand their business. India leads the way in adopting data & devices (i.e., India, home to 325 million smartphones, is now a mobile nation. Large numbers of digital natives have been created by mass urbanization, social media use, and the demographic dividend. This will allow for new business models to flourish.
The Government is pushing for a cashless economy. This includes moving taxes and government payments online. There are also incentives to encourage digital transactions. This will result in increased consumer adoption of digital media. The growth of eCommerce transactions has led to a shift in consumer behavior. FinTech is promoted by the government as well as start-ups via financial and infra support.
The following are the main issues and challenges that the FinTech industry is facing in India’s future growth.
Privacy and data security – Data breaches, platform downtimes, and theft have become a common problem in the financial sector. FinTechs’ backbone is data. The development of a strong mechanism for protecting data is crucial. All players must invest in mechanisms that can control the risk and adhere to regulatory requirements regarding data security.
Varying adoption – FinTech adoption can be difficult for different types of businesses. It’s especially difficult in an economy such as India’s, where MSMEs are largely on the fence about digital adoption.
India is facing rapid regulatory changes. India needs to reach FinTech regulatory maturity quickly. The cost of regulatory compliance is high. Frequent changes are not good for business confidence. There are still a few regulations that are in flux, such as those governing investment exits, cryptocurrency payments, data security, and infrastructure security. However, FinTech is still a dynamic industry. Real-time changes to the regulatory environment are essential to adapt to this dynamism. It is crucial for regulators to strike the right balance between progressive changes and avoiding regulatory overload in a young industry.
Today, we are surrounded by rich data from credit, social, transactions, purchases, and financial aggregators. Data science and analysis specialists can reap the benefits of this abundance of data for their business models. These data could be used as initial capital to develop business models in areas like lending, investment, and payments. FinTech will bring new solutions to problems like those that relate to motor vehicles, land, or property.
Technology has helped FinTech grow.
With cloud storage, plug-and-play offices, and easy accessibility to low-cost technology, the cost of starting a business has fallen dramatically. These areas include identity management, fraud management, artificial Intelligence (NLP), Natural Language Processing (NLP), advanced Analytics, and Blockchain. Augmented & Virtual Reality allows consumers to experience a variety of products and services that are beyond the reach of traditional technology. The customer-centered design will transform the customer experience.