We’re witnessing the creative destruction of financial services, rearranging itself around the consumer. Whoever does this in the most relevant, exciting way using data and digital, wins!– Arvind Sankaran Do you recall the last time you spoke to your bank? I can’t. I think it’s because there is little to differentiate one bank’s services fromRead more
Blog
Finance is the lifeblood of an economy and technology is its carrier. It is time to convert fintech initiatives into a fintech revolution. – Prime Minister Narendra Modi Kudos to PM Modi for recognizing the importance of fintech in India’s growth story. We hope his call-to-action motivates regulators to build an enabling legal framework whichRead more
‘You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of problems you solve.’ Elon Musk SpaceX recently became the first private company to send an exclusively civilian crew to space on a privately funded mission. This is a part of Elon Musk’s grand vision to build a self-sustaining human colony on Mars. But even if colonisation of Mars seems far-fetched, SpaceX has already disruptedRead more
“One of history’s few iron laws is that luxuries tend to become necessities and to spawn new obligations.” - Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens When Barclays opened the world’s first ATM in 1967, it was marketed as a revolutionary robot-cashier. It was a luxury available to a few. Now it’s a necessity. Especially in India which only has 14.72 bank branches per 1,00,000 adults – making ATMs the only way to access cash for many Indians. Fintech services like buy-now-pay-laterRead more
You cannot have your cake and eat it too This proverb always confused me. Why, I thought, if I have the cake can’t I eat it? I imagine it’s a perfectly nice cake – chocolate, pecan, carrot (the possibilities are endless) – what stops me then. Turns out the proverb isn’t as idiotic as IRead more
“What we call chaos is just patterns we haven’t recognised.” Chuck Palahniuk, Survivor A lot happened in the FinTech verse last month. It was chaotic, exciting, and futuristic. In this FinTales edition we explore these three patterns in the chaos: First, RBI and the Government are keen to promote FinTech in financial services. Blockchain may changeRead more
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” –Clarke’s third law Indian financial sector regulators are trying hard to keep pace with the magic. Welcome to this month’s FinTales. If you missed our previous editions, you could read them here. In this edition, we explore the need to balance security and convenience (in payments). Indian regulators’ approachRead more
“The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese.” – Spencer Johnson, Who Moved My Cheese? Neo-banking is the proverbial new cheese in India’s fintech ecosystem. But are e-wallets the old cheese? Welcome to this month’s edition of FinTales. If you missed our previous editions, you could read them here. Write to us ifRead more
“My faith is brightest in the midst of impenetrable darkness” -Mahatma Gandhi (1968) We wish you were reading this in happier times. We hope you and your loved ones are healthy and safe. Hang in there. We will get through this. Welcome to the 6th edition of FinTales. If you missed our previous editions, you could readRead more
“Digital players will increasingly have a critical role across India’s banking sector.Effective regulation is a priority for RBI, and it should not constrain innovation in the fintech space.” – Shaktikanta Das, RBI Governor The RBI Governor’s message is on point. This reminds me of an adage by Stewart Brand. That once a new technology rolls over,Read more