Fintech leaders in India are expressing optimism in anticipation of the forthcoming budget, attributing their positive outlook to the steady expansion of the sector and its capacity to foster financial inclusivity across the country.
This sentiment is further bolstered by the government’s proactive approach to implementing policies and initiatives aimed at improving financial accessibility and cultivating a conducive regulatory landscape.
Talking to Outlook Money on the expectations of the FinTech industry from the upcoming Interim Budget-2024, Shikhar Aggarwal, Chairman of BLS E-Services shared the following ideas for fintech innovation and expansion.
Expanding Digital Finance Infrastructure
Stakeholders in the ecosystem are eagerly anticipating continued backing for the enhancement of digital infrastructure and the embracement of technology. Policies and initiatives aimed at improving financial services, especially in rural India, and those that support innovative business models, will spur further growth.
From a digital standpoint, we expect continued financial support to extend digital finance infrastructure into semi-urban and rural areas. Initiatives around increasing fintech literacy will also play a crucial role in this context.
Moreover, simplifying regulatory frameworks, for instance, streamlining processes to ease account openings, video KYC, etc. will be critical in taking these services to the rural hinterlands of our country.
Fintech and Bank Partnerships
The sector also expects closer collaboration between fintechs and traditional financial institutions, leading to hybrid models that leverage the strengths of both while overcoming their limitations through effective partnerships.
Banks can provide capital and customer trust, while fintechs bring cutting-edge, hyper-efficient technology. Such synergies can accelerate the rollout of innovative financial solutions to citizens everywhere.
The RBI's proposed fintech framework aims to foster responsible innovation within guarded rails. If enacted, it can substantiate the impressive strides that the sector has made toward empowering citizens financially and contributing to national economic progress.
The upcoming Budget presents an opportunity to cement policies that allow this crucial sector to flourish.
Support for Fintech Startups
Beyond supporting larger fintech firms, startups have their own wishlist. Continued tax incentives for at least the first 3 years of operations, capital access through funding programs, and credit guarantees are critical.
High-quality incubators and accelerator programs tailored to promote the fintech innovation ecosystem can unlock ideas and human capital. Outcome-based incentives for promoting digitization and last-mile connectivity are also critical in this context.
Empowering Women and Youth
The fintech sector also hopes that the Interim Budget will help them move beyond Tier-II regions, empower women-led enterprises, and promote women's employment nationwide.
Insurance and microfinance offerings tailored for women alongside digital literacy programs can make an enormous societal impact. Specialized skill development initiatives for young professionals around domains like data analytics, AI, and machine learning can further aid financial inclusion and sectoral development.
As a major employer for Indian youth, favourable regulatory policies around working from home in the IT/ITeS sector can also enable fintechs to attract and retain talent across regions. Tax benefits on such working models can motivate companies to access high-quality talent nationwide, irrespective of geography.
Mitigating Cyber Risks
With increasing digital frauds, regulations to mitigate cyber risk are the need of the hour. The industry recommends that Budget 2024 introduce reinforced cybersecurity policies, build a safer digital payments infrastructure across India's towns and villages, and promote the adoption of e-payments everywhere.
Tax exemptions on expenditures related to last-mile financial empowerment missions can motivate companies to serve the underprivileged.
As customer expectations around quick, seamless digital payments grow, banks and fintechs must harness new-age technologies like cloud computing.
The RBI's proposed cloud solutions for the BFSI sector are welcome in this context. Incentives for private players here can accelerate large-scale deployments. Emerging technologies like blockchain also hold immense potential to combat fraud.
Exploratory projects around blockchain-based transaction systems can be impactful.
In the backdrop of India's booming digital economy, Budget 2024 has the opportunity to drive fintech innovation and expansion at scale. The sector waits with bated breath for the policy catalysts to unlock its fullest potential for financial inclusion and national progress.
As India charges ahead to become a $5 trillion economy, a robust, secure, and hyper-efficient fintech ecosystem will be integral.
