Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met
startup
and fintech stakeholders on Monday along with senior government officials. The much-anticipated meeting comes amid the Reserve Bank of India’s actions against Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL). The meeting is reported to have been attended by senior officials of some 50
fintechs
.
This meeting comes in the wake of the
RBI
’s action against Paytm Payments Bank, which has brought regulatory compliance in the fintech industry into focus. The meeting was organised to facilitate a free exchange of ideas to boost and scale up operations, thereby promoting global competitiveness and growth in the Fintech sector. The meeting highlighted the importance of innovative solutions by Fintech companies to the financial services sector while ensuring strict regulatory compliance.
Who all attended the meeting
Representatives from Policybazar, MakeMyTrip, Razorpay, PhonePe, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, CRED, and venture capital firm PeakXV attended the meeting from the private sector. SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara and officials from NPCI, Canara Bank, and Bank of Baroda were also present.
What FM told RBI and fintech CEOs
During the meeting, the FM reportedly urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to conduct monthly virtual meetings with startups and fintech companies to address their concerns, according to officials. She also requested the Department of Financial Services to arrange a meeting between startups and law enforcement agencies.
Sitharaman encouraged regulators, including the RBI, to hold monthly virtual meetings to discuss any issues or concerns of the startups and fintech companies, as per an official statement released after the meeting.
The RBI, DPIIT, and the finance ministry will also examine the change in ownership/control of listed fintech companies to ensure regulatory compliance. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) also promised to reduce the turnaround time of patent applications.
No Paytm anxieties
An official stated post-meeting that no concerns or anxieties related to Paytm were expressed by the startup founders and fintech entities during the discussion.
What fintech CEOs told the government
The startups reportedly requested for a simplified and digitised KYC process across all fintech segments and urged the Government to take proactive measures against cyber frauds. “One major topic that was raised by the industry was about common KYC for fintechs. The ministry was receptive to the suggestions made by the participants and asked the industry to send a letter for the government to take up,” the executive added. The government assured that cybercrime would be appropriately addressed in the new Digital India Act, according to the official statement.
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