Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said the fintech industry in the country is innovating to increase access to finance and the formal credit system to every person in the country and now is the time to convert fintech initiatives into a fintech revolution. Modi said mobile payments in India exceeded ATM cash withdrawals for the first time last year. He further said the government has universalised bank accounts with 430 million Jan Dhan accounts in the last seven years from less than 50 per cent Indians having bank accounts in 2014. “So far, 690 million RuPay cards have been issued. RuPay cards clocked 1.3 billion transactions last year. UPI processed around 4.2 billion transactions in just last month,” he said while addressing the inauguration of the Infinity Forum organised by the International Financial Services Centres Authority. Almost 300 million invoices are uploaded on the GST portal every month and payments worth over $12 billion are done through the GST portal every month. Despite the pandemic, about 1.5 million railway tickets were booked online every day and FASTag processed 1.3 billion transactions last year, he said. “Financial inclusion is the driver of the fintech revolution. Fintech is resting on four pillars — income, investments, insurance and institutional credit. When income grows, investment becomes possible. Insurance coverage enables greater risk-taking ability and investments. Institutional credit gives wings to expansion and we have worked on each of these pillars. When all these factors come together, you suddenly find so many more people participating in the financial sector. The large base becomes the perfect springboard for fintech innovations. The fintech industry in India is innovating to enhance access to finance and the formal credit system to every person in the country. Now it is time to convert these fintech initiatives into a fintech revolution,” he said.
