Mumbai: Fintech has played a key role in connecting India’s vast and diverse population with formal finance faster and more affordably, while transforming customer experience, financial infrastructure and credit delivery, Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026, Malhotra said fintech has significantly improved the efficiency of India’s financial ecosystem by reducing account-opening and payment-settlement times, lowering transaction costs and strengthening fraud detection through AI-driven analytics.
“This has been made possible by fintech, which bridges and connects our vast, diverse population to formal finance faster and more affordably,” Malhotra said.
“Equally significant has been fintech’s role in improving customer experience and efficiency in our financial infrastructure, reducing account opening and payment settlement times, cutting transaction costs, strengthening fraud detection through AI-driven analytics, enabling real-time supervision,” he added.
He highlighted the growing role of technology in improving financial services, including real-time supervision and more efficient financial infrastructure. He said the impact of fintech was particularly visible in credit delivery to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through cash flow-based lending, account aggregators and the Unified Lending Interface.
The RBI Governor also underlined the central bank’s approach towards fostering innovation in the financial sector. He said the RBI has encouraged self-regulation within the fintech industry and supported the development of digital public infrastructure on which fintech companies can build new products and services.
“We have been open to new ideas and new players. We have promoted responsible innovation while safeguarding trust, which is the very foundation of finance,” Malhotra said.
Malhotra also welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the Global Fintech Fest, saying his leadership had helped place India at the forefront of digital innovation. He noted that the Prime Minister’s presence at the festival for the third consecutive year reflected his commitment to technology and innovation, particularly in the financial sector.
Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chair of GFF 2026, co-founder of Infosys and Chairman of Axilor Ventures, said the festival is expected to attract more than 100,000 delegates, over 8,000 participating institutions, more than 1,200 speakers and over 500 investors.
(IANS)
