Inputs for stakeholders consultation on Fintech related issues

The Ministry of Finance constituted a Steering Committee on Fintech related issues under the Chairmanship of Secretary (EA) on 05.03.2018. As part of the Committee’s work, it has been meeting representatives of the fin-tech industry, as well as other stakeholders in order to understand their concerns and views.

The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) has been appointed the secretariat for the Committee. A Stakeholder Consultation is being organised by NIPFP on June 15, 2018 and CashlessConsumer is invited to present views and perspectives on the questions detailed below. As we are a collective, I request to send in your inputs, well in advance such that we have time to discuss and then arrive at a consolidated written feedback.

List of questions for consultation

1. Current roadblocks to provide lending and other financial services through a fin-tech solution to the people who don’t have access to formalized bank lending.
2. Have you considered launching fin-tech products or services but not done so due to compliance issues? In what sectors (banking, investments, insurance, etc) do you face significant compliance issues?
3. What steps have been taken by the regulators to ensure that a Fintech company which is not currently regulated by a particular regulator is able to seek clarifications on its services? What is the nature of responsiveness and engagement offered by regulator(s) you have interacted with? How can this be improved?
4. Do laws and regulations related to consumer protection and enhancement of safety and soundness of the financial system need to be reviewed in light of changing relationships between traditional players and its consumers.
5. What infrastructural constraints are there those inhibit the growth of fin-tech in India, particularly with a view towards increasing financial inclusion and access. e.g. better broadband service penetration?
6. What government data needs to be collected, made digital and accessible for more and better provision of fin-tech in India.
7. Are you operating in multiple jurisdictions? What are the implications of differing data protection standards, data storage and sharing requirements on your business? How should Indian regulation be designed to ensure India is competitive in the fin-tech sector?
8. What kind of skills have the highest demand in the fin-tech industry? Is there a trend towards particular kind of skill sets? Do you face resource constraints? What is the government role in this regard, according to you?

Please feel free to comment (if you prefer anonymously too) on the Google doc send in your responses by email to cashlessconsumerin@gmail.com. You will receive a separate email with consolidated feedback and submissions can be further refined by mid next week.

One of the founding principles of CashlessConsumer has been to engage in policy making process to represent and put forth consumer perspectives for a fair and friendly digital payments ecosystem. We now have a chance to provide our views / inputs to Govt to strengthen the ecosystem.

50p by HasGeek and CashlessConsumer are putting together a discussion this Sunday (10 June) at 5 PM to collect responses and understand the issues being faced. Please leave a comment with details if you would like to join the discussion or feel free to watch the discussion online.

Looking forward to collect feedback to better represent consumers’ interest in digital payments / FinTech largely to the Govt. Thank you.