Huge opportunity lies ahead for Indian fintech firms, says Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Friday said there is a huge opportunity for Indian financial technology (fintech) companies going ahead, even as he emphasised the need to re-evaluate existing KYC norms to make the process more cost-effective.

In India, he said, 80 percent of the adult population has bank accounts, which is better than the global average.

Addressing a virtual CII seminar on 'Fintech and Digitisation', Kant said the Indian fintech market will mature and there is a need to make the country a fintech hub.

"As India's fintech matures, there will be a huge opportunity for existing as well as new fintech companies to adapt and grow... (there is) a need to re-evaluate the existing KYC paradigm to make it highly cost-effective and easy to do. Video onboarding and use of AI can be the way forward," he said.

Kant further said India has prepared itself for the disruption that has happened by pushing digitisation, while in the Western world, leaders are still figuring out how to distribute money to people and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also stressed on the need to increase sachetisation of financial products.

The Niti Aayog CEO also pointed out that India needs low cost, high volume products, and flow-based lending to give a push to financial integration.

Kant said India will have to build infrastructure to become a role model for the rest of the world.

"We are in the midst of challenging times because of COVID-19 and going forward, we will be increasingly doing faceless transactions," he said.

Kant observed that the fintech industry in India can solve India's unique needs like financial inclusion, access to credit, and limited insurance reach.

He also emphasised on the need to localise digital offerings by fintech companies and allow for local dialects, languages for a holistic financial integration.

"Forget English, go vernacular," Kant urged fintech players.

He also highlighted that through the use of technology and digitisation of processes, under the direct benefit transfer, the government has seamlessly transferred Rs 11.1 lakh crore under 426 operational schemes across 56 ministries and departments -- thus saving Rs 1.7 lakh crore by avoiding leakages.