Sitharaman urges vigilance against threats as she promotes fintech resilience

The Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has stressed the critical role fintech firms play in advancing financial inclusion and reshaping India’s financial environment. In an increasingly complicated global context, she advised these companies to remain watchful and defend themselves against both classic and contemporary challenges.

Sitharaman emphasized the importance of fintech as a potent and dynamic instrument for financial inclusion at the three-day Global Fintech Fest (GFF 2023) opening ceremony in Mumbai. The current percentage of new-to-credit clients held by fintech businesses is 36 percent, above the 22 percent share owned by conventional brick-and-mortar banks, making it a fundamental component of their operation.

However, Sitharaman admitted that in the contemporary world, the fintech sector confronts a number of difficulties and dangers. These include the usual geopolitical conflicts, cyberthreats, hazards associated with cryptocurrencies, problems with drugs, tax havens, and tax evasion.

Sitharaman urged fintech businesses to make significant investments in their security and protection measures in order to address these urgent risks and promote the creation of a responsible, inclusive, and resilient financial ecosystem.

A glitzy awards ceremony was also part of the event, during which prominent fintech figures from India and other countries were recognized in several categories. Among the notable honors were:

Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director of Lulu Financial Holdings in Abu Dhabi, received the Global Award for “Leading Fintech Personality of the Year” for the Gulf Cooperation Countries in honor of his work to transform cross-border payments between the GCC and India.

The title of “Fintech Leader of the Year” was given to One97 Communications Ltd. President and COO Bhavesh Gupta.

The ‘Leading Fintech Personality of the Year-Europe’ award was given to Volt’s founder and CEO, Tom Greenwood.

The “Fintech CTO of the Year” award was given to Kailash Nadh, CTO of Zerodha.

Open Network for Digital Commerce received the ‘Fintech Company of the Year’ award.

A thought leadership study titled “The Second Wave – Resilient, Inclusive, Exponential Fintech” was also released by Sitharaman during the occasion. Industry heavy hitters like Yash Erande, Saurabh Tripathi, Vishwas Patel, Naveen Surya, Kris Gopalakrishnan, G. Padmanabhan, Praveena Rai, Dilip Asbe, Srinivas Jain, and other illustrious individuals were present for the report’s publication.