Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered the inaugural address of the Global Fintech Festival (GFF) 2023 that kick-started in Mumbai’s Jio World Centre today. The theme of GFF 2023 is “Global Collaboration for a Responsible Financial Ecosystem – Inclusive, Resilient, Sustainable”.
In her address, the Finance Minister highlighted the importance of global collaboration in times when there is a lot of skepticism about globalisation, where some are even talking about de-globalisation. She said,”We’re talking about responsible financial ecosystems today when globalisation is being questioned. Globalisation has helped remove poverty.”
Sitharaman said that technology is a powerful tool through which we can bring about a difference. “Technology is the common tool available to everyone regardless of the disparities globally,” she further added. In her speech, the Finance Minister emphasised that while some countries may use technology more effectively, others may use it strategically, some selectively and some others “probably are yet to have that milestone reached to make a reckoning difference in using technology to influence the financial ecosystem.”
Fintech: Powerful tool for inclusion
The Finance Minister hailed fintech technologies of UPI and ONDC that are driving more inclusion, resilience and sustainability in the country. Lauding the tremendous impact of fintech, she said, ”There was a time when conventional financial activities were the backbone of the financial ecosystem but today Fintech has become a more robust & dynamic financial inclusion tool.”
To highlight the disruptive power of fintech on the traditional financial ecosystem, Sitharaman quoted a study by BCG from 2022. She said that in lending, fintechs have 36% share of new-to-credit customers as compared to 22% share of brick and mortar banks. Difference between conventional banking and fintech is that the latter is reaching out to more people in a sector like lending that was considered a regular brick and mortar function. In payments fintech have 93% share in UPI transaction value as compared to 7% share in banks. Similarly, in wealthtech, fintech broking has 80% share of active broking clients as compared to 20% of traditional broking.
Enhancing cross-border payments
The Finance Minister also talked about how global cooperation with absolute intensity is the key. She spoke about the recent interlinkage between UPI and Singapore and said, “UPI and RuPay Cards acceptance at selective merchants also live in UAE, Bhutan, Nepal. The Indian fintech industry should take strong lead in cross border payments.”
Sitharaman said that improving cross-border payments is one of the key agenda of G20. She said,“The primary focus for the G20 is prioritizing the exchange of information regarding national experiences and international efforts related to the interoperability of fast payment systems.”
The Finance Minister concluded her speech by saying that India can lead in making the financial ecosystem inclusive, resilient and more sustainable and for that cross-border collaborations are essential.
The largest conference in fintech, GFF is jointly organised by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the Payments Council of India (PCI), and the Fintech Convergence Council (FCC). GFF’s aim is to provide a single platform for fintech leaders to “foster collaborations and develop a blueprint for the future of the industry”.