India’s financial technology sector has steadily shaped over the last few years. In fact, the nation is a leader with a fintech adoption rate of 87% compared to the global adoption rate of 64%. These emerging technologies have laid the groundwork for innovation, and new and incumbent institutions aren’t holding back. Many famous visionary leaders are active players leading the charge and willing to adapt as necessary to stay ahead.
Among these is Sanjiv Bajaj, a fintech market leader, chairman, and managing director of Bajaj Finserv. He has leveraged digitization and operational excellence to offer financial solutions that make life easy for the end consumer. With a goal to take the enterprise digital in the next few years, the visionary entrepreneur actively invests in growth. “Technology has become a big enabler for companies like ours in terms of providing the right products and services to customers,” he says while discussing the company’s consumer-first approach.
His vision is shared with not just his other famous visionary leaders but regulatory bodies too. In January 2022, the RBI established an internal fintech department that promotes digital lending while addressing the sector’s opportunities and challenges. This, coupled with the rapid development of fintech, suggests that the nation is on the brink of a transformation.
Here are a few tech innovations making a difference today that are aiding the development of the Indian fintech sector.
AI and machine learning that enables customer-focused services
Does a chatbot come to mind when thinking about AI? This innovative solution is just the tip of the iceberg. AI has impacted the industry’s back-end, marketing, product delivery, security, risk management, and other operations. With real-time monitoring and analytics, AI and machine learning can instantly create alerts for red flags, improving response time and limiting breaches.
Another angle is the all-important customer experience, where AI and machine learning implementations are kings. By facilitating better decision-making, backed by data history and personalization, these technologies help financial products penetrate deeper market pockets. For the visionary entrepreneur, AI and ML are defining elements that enhance customer experience while ensuring a hefty slice of the market share.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) driving efficiency across verticals
The volume of structured and unstructured data processed by banks and other financial institutions has grown exponentially over the last few years. As a result, solutions offered through RPA have taken the fintech industry by storm. When compared to AI, RPA is a simple tool that mimics human nature to provide simple and reliable results.
Implementing RPA can allow institutions to automate repetitive and fixed processes and back-end processes like managing applications, security checks, account maintenance, and more. Top changemakers have utilized the power of this innovative technology to reduce the required manpower and offer better, quicker results. This makes it easy for employees to provide better customer service because the time spent on mundane tasks is reduced.
Biometric security ensures security for the consumer across gateways
Security and safety concerns have also started growing with increasingly easy access to banking services. Emerging biometric security technology seems to be the holy grail to becoming a fintech market leader. Biometric security technology uses one’s unique physical features – fingertips, voice, face, retina, and the like – to improve security and identity verification.
Adopting this technology makes it easy for financial institutions to assure their customers of security and protection. As such, biometric security technology is shaping the fintech industry’s future and taking the safety and security of customers’ data to newer heights. In fact, the market size for this technology is expected to reach $24.59 billion in the next few years.
Cloud computing makes it easier and more feasible for financial institutions to leverage breakthrough technologies like blockchain. Although first introduced in support, blockchain technology has much more for the fintech industry. Its unique characteristics, such as encryption, allow institutions to streamline infrastructure, reduce fraud, and quickly complete core processes. HSBC, Wells Fargo, PayPal, MasterCard, AXA, are among the top changemakers who have adopted blockchain technology to offer enhanced and simplified services.
Blockchain and Cloud computing enhance and simplify transactions
While some of these technologies have already been introduced, much of their potential was unrealized, and they continue to redefine what’s possible. The technology-driven solutions in the financial services sector are ever-advancing, paving the way forward for an evolving consumer. As top changemakers continue investing in innovation, exponential growth is not only probable but inevitable. With 22 fintech unicorns and 33 unicorns in India, this sector is primed to make a lasting difference in finance.