Brief evaluation of the year 2022 and the anticipated trends in 2023, with respect to fintech, digital payments, BaaS, among other sectors.

India is in a strong position to become the global leader in fintech innovation, with a thriving ecosystem of startups and established companies driving innovative financial solutions. A robust tech stack, combined with the Jan Dhan Yojana and the surge of UPI, has opened doors to endless opportunities to spur innovative offerings and services in Fintech.

Here are a few trends that can drive this progress in 2023:

Offline digital payments gain traction:
The introduction of offline digital payments such as UPI 123pay will increase person-to-merchant (P2M) and peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions via payment apps. This will exponentially increase the financial awareness for users even from the remotest regions, making them a new customer segment for businesses.

Increase in cross border payments:
Home grown payment solutions will gain further acceptance in foreign markets, increasing cross border transactions. NPCI’s efforts in expanding UPI in markets such as Europe, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland will act as a growth catalyst. Recent initiatives, such as allowing Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to directly make payments for their bills using Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS), will accelerate this process.

Increased adoption of BNPL:
In 2023, we will witness an increased collaboration between banks, NBFCs, and payment networks, giving access to credit to a largely underserved market and creating a new customer base. Segments offering BNPL will go beyond electronics, mobiles and groceries, extending to essentials, healthcare, online education, insurance, and travel.

Banking as a Service (BaaS) has emerged to be a powerful avenue to boost the reach of financial services. We are witnessing a rising focus on convenient banking and utilisation of tech-led innovation. Considering the efforts will increase in 2023, we will undoubtedly move closer to the aspiration of hassle-free bank account shifting, just like changing mobile phone service providers. It goes without saying that we are entering an exciting phase wherein fintech and digital payments will become force multipliers in India’s financial inclusion endeavour.

About Cashfree Payments:
Cashfree Payments is a leading payment and API banking solutions company. It provides full-stack payments solutions enabling businesses in India to collect payments and make payouts via all available methods with simple integration. Cashfree Payments’ offerings include an advanced and easy way to integrate payment gateways, a split payment solution for marketplaces, bank account verification API, and Auto Collect — a virtual account solution to match inbound payments to customers. Founded by IIIT Hyderabad alumnus Akash Sinha and IIT Kharagpur graduate Reeju Datta, www.cashfree.com is among the leading payment service providers in India processing transactions worth USD 40 Billion annually. It has leveraged technology to lead payment disbursals in India with more than 50% market share among payment processors. Cashfree Payments enables more than 3,00,000 businesses with payment collections, vendor payouts, wage payouts, bulk refunds, expense reimbursements, loyalty and rewards. Apart from India, Cashfree Payments products are used in eight other countries including the USA, Canada, and UAE. Cashfree Payments is backed by Silicon Valley investor Y Combinator, Apis Partners, State Bank of India (SBI), and was incubated by PayPal.