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Govt & industry together can take FinTech 2.0 to the next level: K Rajaraman
Jun 24, 2020
NEW DELHI, 24 June 2020: Mr K Rajaraman, Additional Secretary (Investment & IER), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance today called upon the industry for collective brainstorming and working jointly with the government for taking FinTech 2.0 to the next level. Fintech has enabled the financial inclusion and the government welcomes the initiatives of the industry for public good. The government recognizes the transformational value of fintech, he added.
Addressing the FICCI webinar 'Future of Fintech in Light of COVID-19', Mr Rajaraman said that India's fintech sector has inspired and won the confidence of global investors. He urged the industry to participate in the inter-ministerial committee meetings headed by Secretary, Economics Affairs and highlight the concerns faced by the sector.
Mr Rajaraman said that the Department is working with various stakeholders including RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and NBFCs, ministries, banks, industry, for finding innovative and holistic solutions to take forward the fintech sector. "COVID-19 has created a temporary disruption for businesses and the government has come out with a number of liquidity measures for businesses and is also providing cash and employment support to vulnerable sections of the society," he added.
FICCI-PwC Report 'Redefining the FinTech Experience: Impact of COVID-19' was also released during the webinar.
Mr Sudhakar Ramasubramanian, Chair, FICCI Fintech Committee and Chief Digital Officer, IndusInd Bank said that the pandemic has brought in a behavourial change in financial transactions and helped the digital world. Fintech has a unique opportunity to leverage this and it will be the first sector to contribute towards rebuilding of economy post COVID. He added that the FICCI-PwC report will become the blue print for the fintech industry going forward.
Mr Vivek Belgavi, Partner and Leader FinTech, PwC India said, "Fintech sector in India, across startups and incumbents, needs to go beyond liquidity challenges. They need to tap opportunities arising from broader sectoral digitisation and changing consumption preferences to stay competitive and well positioned to capitalise as the economy revives."
Mr V Govindarajan, Co-Chair, FICCI Fintech Committee and Co-Founder and Director, Perfios said that the FICCI-PwC report is comprehensive and timely and its insights are relevant for the industry to move forward post COVID. He added that recommendations in the report can support the government and regulators to frame policies that can help in accelerating the sector's growth.
Mr Adhil Shetty, Co-Chair, FICCI Fintech Committee and Founder and CEO, BankBazaar said that this is the time to enable financial inclusion through technology. Underlining the need for policy change, he added that FICCI Fintech Committee is at the forefront and engaging with the policymakers for formulating enabling policies.
Mr Amit Nawka, Executive Director, PwC moderated a panel discussion on 'Impact of COVID on India Fintech ecosystem and what role can different stakeholders play to enable and empower the Fintech growth 2.0'. The speakers included Mr Ganesh Ananthanarayan, Chief Operating Officer, Airtel Payments Bank; Ms Sayali Karanjkar, Co-Founder, PaySense; Mr Naveen Kukreja, Co-Founder and CEO, PaisaBazaar; Mr Ganesh Rengaswamy, Co-Founder and Partner, Quona Capital; Mr Subramanya SV, Co-Founder, Fisdom; and Mr Harshil Mathur, CEO & Co-Founder, Razorpay.
Key highlights of the FICCI-PwC report
� Double whammy for lending sector from both demand and supply side - Impact of liquidity, moratorium impasse from banks to NBFCs and tepid consumer discretionary demand
� Digitisation of customer ecosystems (such as MSMEs, agri value chain, kirana stores) will create opportunities for FinTechs to deliver financial services to these segments
� FinTechs can act as an essential benefits delivery cog for governments/regulators in creating linkages to ensure last-mile outreach and delivery
� Tracking changing consumption preferences (eg: shift to digital channels by traditionally non-digital consumers) will provide options to pivot into new channels, customers and offerings
� Lucrative opportunities for enabling tech firms to provide solutions acting like building blocks into the digital infrastructure build-out journey of traditional players and incumbents.