FinTech in India

Indian FinTech companies could address a few of the critical structural issues afflicting Indian financial services-increase outreach, improve customer experience, reduce operational friction, and foster adoption and usage of the digital channel. Legacy prone processes and higher operating cost models of incumbent banks and financial service providers will give digital FinTech companies an edge, as banks play catch-up with these more nimble and innovative start-ups. The opportunity for FinTech lies in expanding the market, shaping customer behavior, and effecting long term changes in the financial industry.

Indian FinTech companies have the potential to reshape the financial services landscape in three ways:

• The FinTech startups are likely to reduce costs and improve quality of financial services. Not being burdened with legacy operations, IT systems, and expensive physical networks, benefits of leaner operating models can be passed on to customers.
• The FinTech industry will develop unique and innovative models of assessing risks. Leveraging big data, machine learning, and alternative data to underwrite credit and develop credit scores for customers with limited credit history will improve the penetration of financial services in India.
• FinTech will create a more diverse, secured, and stable financial services landscape. FinTech companies are less homogenous than incumbent banks and offer great learning templates to improve, both, capabilities and culture.

Fintech companies can learn and adopt best practices around risk and internal controls, operational excellence, compliance culture, and employee engagement, that has stood the test of time for most the banks, and financial services providers in India.