In recent years, the financial sector has seen technological disruption at a scale that is changing the face of the industry across verticals such as investing, lending, payments, and insurance. The recent introduction of cutting-edge innovation and regulatory support has created an enormous impact, bridging the gap of financial inequality in India.
Recognizing this fintech revolution, many business leaders have been quick to adapt and evolve, becoming digital pioneers in India. Some of the top pioneers in finance include the likes of Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder, and CEO of Paytm; Uday Kotak, Executive Vice-Chairman and MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank; and Shikha Sharma, Indian banker, economist, and a major player in the growth of companies like ICICI and Axis Bank.
The Chairman and MD of Bajaj Finserv, Sanjiv Bajaj, is also known as a top digital pioneer in India, taking India’s most diversified NFBC into a digital transformation journey. “In the coming years, our entire business will go digital,” he says, believing that the fast adoption of technology is pivotal to financial inclusion. In the process of building an omnichannel financial marketplace, he aims to get 150-200 million customers on his newly launched digital platform in the next 5 years.
To empower India’s diverse customer base and claim a larger market share, here are the technologies that the best fintech leaders in India are leveraging.
Machine learning and AI
Modern tools have not only simplified access to finance but have also added a layer of intuitive intelligence. This is all thanks to AI and ML models, which, when combined, give rise to incredibly powerful solutions. India’s fintech sector is among the fastest growing in the world, and these technologies largely power it. Both incumbents and modern entities leverage them differently, and one example worth noting is the immensely helpful AI bots. Integrated into websites, smartphone apps, and other digital interfaces, they help streamline customer interactions.
A great example is Bajaj Finserv’s Blu, a multilingual bot that takes customer experience to new heights. The brand deployed intelligent innovation to better its connections with its consumers while keeping costs in check. And the tech solution did just that, handling over 20 million conversations across the CRM system and reducing costs by $16 million in a year.
Low-code platforms
In highly competitive markets, agility determines who gets to the top and stays there. As our nation transitions into an era where fintech is a major player, financial institutions must adapt to changes in short windows. Development cycles for new feature launches, app updates, and more must happen quickly, or they will lose out on the proverbial worm. This is where low-code platforms come into play, with digital pioneers in India utilizing them across financial services.
They have applications from enabling hassle-free and seamless account setups to deploying an efficient core banking system and even offering loan solutions. Low-code platforms allow a fintech market leader to innovate efficiently and deliver on a competitive timeline. A good example of innovation was seen during the pandemic, where service providers took no time in deploying apps that could alert citizens of vaccine availability and other such resources.
Big data and IoT
Modern financial solutions are data-intensive, requiring several terabytes of data, and with IoT, the volume has jumped significantly. In fact, big data by IoT is slated to exceed 79 zettabytes by 2025, and this number points to significant disruption. While already present in the space, some common innovations surround wearables and smartphone apps, simplifying payment solutions with UPI and other such provisions. These innovations are brought on by big data and IoT in space and are simply the tip of the iceberg. Open banking is another arena that aligns the finance sector with other core sectors, giving rise to innovative solutions powered by APIs.
In fact, a thought leader and co-founder of a fintech said, “Intersection between payments, tech, and consumer is the area where huge revenue pools are going to be available. Play between payments and data coming together to open opportunities across the world.” When discussing IoT, this has interesting results, the most notable being the concept of contextualized finance. With all the data on hand, fintech and NBFCs have the potential to deliver an incredibly seamless and futuristic customer experience.
For instance, contextualized finance allows for loan approval on push messages as consumers enter specific retail locations. In a similar vein, consumers can also receive overspending alerts when exceeding a threshold in retail-intensive geolocations.
As we see the adoption of robotics and blockchain in India, fintech and those at their helm will now be able to stand toe to toe with global fintech leaders to pad their bottom lines and offer value to customers across segments. Harnessing emerging tech and maximizing its application is the only way for a company to emerge as a fintech market leader today and hold its position tomorrow.
