Mumbai, Oct 8
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision that financial inclusion has to be not just women's inclusion, but women-led inclusion, Kalpana Ajayan, Regional Head South Asia Women's World Banking, said at Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025.
Speaking to IANS, Ajayan said that at Women's World Banking, women's financial inclusion is a very important vision of the organisation.
"I mean, that's a great differentiator. So who has to lead the women into inclusion? It's also the women who need to lead the women's inclusion," she said.
Expressing gratitude to the government for organising an event like GFF, she said that financial inclusion involves multiple players in the ecosystem.
"It could be banks, it could be fintechs, it could be insurance companies, and others. The forums like the Global Fintech Fest give great opportunities to collaborate with multiple stakeholders," Ajayan noted.
Interacting with IANS, at the same event, Vikas Bansal, Director, Amazon Pay, said that this is the sixth edition of GFF, and every time he came, he saw the event growing bigger and bigger.
" I'm so happy to be here and see the energy, the enthusiasm and what lies ahead of us as a FinTech community within the country," Bansal said
He said that they strive to provide their customers with a wide range of payment options.
We offer credit card payments, Buy Now Pay Later, through wallets, or through UPI, and to make this even more reliable, convenient, and profitable, we recently introduced UPI biometric authorisation, allowing users to make payments using only biometric authentication, Bansal said.
Meanwhile, Rajdeep Gupta, Founder, Managing Director and CEO of Root Mobile, thanked PM Modi for his visionary initiative of Digital India.
"India has the largest UPI platform globally. Other companies are following our example, which shows that India and Indian fintech have gained importance in the global world. This will only grow further in the coming days," he added.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Great to see India leading in fintech innovation! The biometric UPI authentication is a game-changer for my elderly parents who struggle with remembering PINs. Digital India is truly transforming lives at the grassroots level.
While I appreciate the focus on women-led inclusion, I hope this translates to actual opportunities in rural areas. Many women in my village still don't have smartphones or digital literacy. The vision needs to reach the last mile.
As a small business owner in Chennai, I can attest to how UPI has revolutionized payments. From street vendors to luxury stores, everyone accepts digital payments now. Proud to see India setting global standards in fintech! 🇮🇳
Visiting India from the US, I'm amazed by how advanced your digital payment system is. We're still stuck with credit cards while you have UPI everywhere. The biometric authentication feature sounds incredible for security!
The growth of GFF shows how rapidly India's fintech ecosystem is evolving. From being a cash-dominated economy to leading digital payments globally - what a transformation in just a few years! More power to our innovators and entrepreneurs.
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