"In India, the RBI has endeavoured to find a middle ground trying to balance between the innovation brought by FinTech while addressing the unique risks they introduce," MK Jain, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) remarked during a speech at the International Research Conference on FinTech held in Ahmedabad on March 10. Jain went on to talk about the various benefits and risks posed by FinTech, the different regulatory approaches available at RBI's disposal, why the industry should consider self-regulating, and more. Why does this matter: FinTech is one of the fastest-growing industries in India. Just over the last couple of years, we've had many innovative financial products emerge including buy now pay later (BNPL) services, digital lending apps, neo-banks, etc. For those who are in this industry or are looking to get into this industry, understanding how RBI is looking to regulate this industry is crucial to understanding the challenges and opportunities they might face. What are the benefits from FinTech? Better customer experience and convenience: A couple of years ago, you probably had to visit banks for all your financial needs, but technology has allowed newer players to enter the space and provide financial services by reducing the entry barriers. "It has allowed the unbundling of financial services in a manner that is economically viable even at a lower scale of operations. In turn, consumers have benefited by better customer experience and convenience. Payment sector innovations in India is a typical example," Jain remarked. For example, if you run…
