It has been widely documented how financial technology or fintech in India has been booming. Adoption among customers continues to be on the rise, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reporting that 128 million retail digital payment transactions totaling US$600 billion were handled in January 2023 alone.
According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), there are now as many as over 2,100 fintech firms in the country. Additionally, as per the Government of India’s Economic Survey for 2022-23, domestic fintech companies have witnessed a staggering adoption rate of 87% which beats the global average by 23%.
A recent report by Ernst and Young also suggests that the domestic fintech sector will earn US$1 trillion in AUM and US$200 billion in revenue by 2030, all but confirming that India is a global fintech capital in the making.
Unbanked/underbanked populations remain
Unfortunately, while the growth trajectory of India fintech points to its emergence at the forefront of global financial technology, it has also been reflective of how it is still a developing country.
According to the first-ever rural edition of Max Life’s flagship India Protection Quotient (IPQ) survey conducted in partnership with KANTAR, when it comes to total deposits, rural India (which represents over 60% of the population) contributes less than 10%, while urban India (comprising only around 12% of the population) contributes between 50% to 60% of the deposits. In addition, women comprise a modest 20% of the total deposits.
In a 2021 report by British research platform Merchant Machine, India also ranked as one of the countries with the highest number of people who are unbanked within their country. Granted, in terms of percentages, India unbanked was only 20% of its population (comparatively smaller than leader Morocco – 71%). However, during the report, India’s population was over 1.38 billion, indicating that approximately over 276 million people were without banking access.
Inclusion via international banking
According to demographic data from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’s State of World Population Report for 2023, India is now presently home to 1.4286 billion people, and has surpassed China as the most populous country in the world. This population is also notably young, with approximately 35% of the population being aged no more than 35 years old.
With a population that largely resides in the rural areas and also majorly composed of Millenials and Gen Z’s, the need for international banking services loom large, as many from India are likely to go overseas to make a living or take on remote work from international employers given not everyone can be employed domestically.
Fortunately, with a booming fintech sector supported by continually improving digital infrastructure and robust regulated bodies, borderless banking services has been one sub-sector that has gradually grown in India.
Among the notable providers emerging at forefront has been Black Banx.
Established in 2014 with an aim to increase the simplicity of online banking, dramatically reduce transaction times and achieve financial inclusion, London-based Black Banx’s initial foray into fintech in India was when it established satellite offices in the country in 2017.
Since then, the company has embarked on providing individual and business accounts to the Indian population that enables them to send and accept local and international payments almost instantly, and hold or manage funds in 28 FIAT currencies and 2 crypto currencies.
Designed to provide business and personal customers with banking access without restrictions based on nationality, country of residence, religion, amount of funds held or transferred, Black Banx has positioned itself as the ideal option for both the young and unbanked populations of India that don’t have access to traditional banking or require more than domestic services. Black Banx’s operations have been global in scope since its launch to the public in 2015, and is accessible to 180 markets, allowing customers to transact to and from almost anywhere in the world.
Inclusion via innovation
In addition to offering borderless banking services, another notable offering by Black Banx that promotes financial inclusion is the means to use crypto currency as efficiently as traditional currency.
In 2016, the company began offering crypto currency as a deposit method. By 2018, it had also launched fully fledged crypto currency trading on the Black Banx platform with BTC and ETH as crypto currency,
By connecting its fully fledged banking platform with the features of a crypto exchange, Black Banx provides a cryptocurrency proposition that is unique to the fintech industry, as it gives clients unprecedented autonomy by enabling them to use their crypto balance to pay third parties directly from our platform.
In India (and anywhere else in the world with at least basic internet access), this means unbanked populations being able to make transactions and maintain their finances as they would with more traditional banks, but by way of Black Banx cryptocurrency that is designed to actually be accessible to them.
Indeed, while the truth to India becoming a fintech capital of the world remains to be seen, it is important to ensure that the growth of digital banking in the country becomes all encompassing, with everyone being able to enjoy the benefits brought about by fintech.
Fortunately, there are neobanks like Black Banx, who are ready to double down on expansion into the Indian fintech market, but not merely to take part in the rapid growth of domestic fintech, but to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital revolution.
About Black Banx
Founded by German billionaire Michael Gastauer, Black Banx provides digital banking solutions to over 28 million private individuals and 2.5 million institutional and corporate clients worldwide. The London-based company offers the entire account opening process online, in real time, and across 180 countries, while protecting customers’ funds with industry leading security tools and our global diversification concept.
