Authored by Ripunjay Bararia, Co-founder & CTO, SugarBox Networks
Globally, the Fintech industry has witnessed intense growth in the last 2 decades. And India has brilliantly adopted the phenomenon of digital payments, driving inclusive growth and laying the groundwork for digitization. Gone are the days when one had to carry cash, a credit card or even a checkbook to make payments. The acceleration in the use of digital payments can be credited to the growing existence of fintech players, who are enabling easy access to financial services, empowering the economy to offer ‘Paperless & Cashless’ payments, contributing to the Digital India movement.
According to a Research and Markets report, there are 800 million mobile payment consumers in India, where the digital payments industry stood at INR 2,153 trillion in 2020, and is set to grow at 27% CAGR to reach INR 7,092 trillion by FY25.
While the adoption of UPI is said to be one of the major reasons for growth in usage of Digital Payments, other factors such as convenience, flexibility, and seamless experience, have accelerated the demand. With the ever-evolving technology and new industry entrants, increasing government incentives seem to be adding to the growth of this industry.
In addition, the demand for digital financial services like mobile payments and growth of e-commerce, surged during the pandemic. A largely cashless society is now becoming a reality, as consumers are rapidly adopting digital payment methods, which offer an easier and more convenient way to transfer money. Moreover, honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aspiration for a ‘Cashless Day Out’ fuels the national amalgamation of India's online transaction footprints.
Digital payments are expected to witness further growth, whilst pushing their way as the preferred mode of payment, owing to reduced cash dependency, quicker transfers, and simple transactions. Even with rapid adoption and recorded growth of 30.19 percent, there is still a huge untapped customer base that does not have access to these options. SugarBox Networks aims to address this digital divide by providing access to digital services, especially to facilitate payments across the underserved and unserved geographies, aiming to make Fintech accessible to 425 Mn people by 2026.
In the current scenario, as the ecosystem continues to grow, it is important for organizations, industry operators, and governing authorities to discern what is required to fuel further expansion. Blockchain, Internet of Things, 5G and next-generation computing technologies such as quantum computing, edge devices are poised to further expand the fintech service portfolio. Continuously measuring, tracking, and improving the impact of fintech on the digital economy, will be essential for long-term success.
Importantly, this growth is enabled by innumerable companies that work as enablers and backbone of the digital ecosystem. Taking these innovations at the lowest price to as many users as possible, whilst being location agnostic, is what will fuel growth for the payments sector. For us at SugarBox Networks, the constant endeavor is to augment the reach of the existing digital ecosystem, to enable the experience for the next billion users.
