UK and India to strengthen fintech collaboration
The UK and India are looking to strengthen their fintech collaboration, which could boost access to global talent and new sources of capital.
A new report from the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) makes a series of recommendations for both countries’ governments and regulators.
They encourage the UK to implement the recommendations of the Kalifa Review and call for both countries to learn from each other’s successes.
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The report calls for the UK to launch a UK-India mobility partnership with a fintech lens, to secure access to global talent.
It also suggests a coalition on digital ID, learning from India’s experience from its own successful scheme and with payment systems.
And it proposes the development of the UK as a complementary source of capital for Indian fintech firms and unicorns that are thinking of going public.
Meanwhile, the report urges India to leverage the ‘India Stack’, considering how access to the new account aggregator framework, which allows data to be shared among several parties, could be broadened to more domestic and international firms and promote innovation.
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It also highlights areas including inter-operability and bank switching, where it says India can learn from the UK’s experience with open banking.
It also suggests India could consider the development of fintech platforms for business financing, which could encourage cross-border trade and capital flows between India and the UK.
And finally, it proposes enhancing the fintech ecosystem with cybersecurity and data protection, allying India and UK data-sharing regimes to share best practices.
“The UK and India are both world-leading FinTech centres and make natural partners on financial innovation,” said Bill Winters, group chief executive, Standard Chartered and UK chair of the IUKFP.
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“There is much for us to learn from our respective successes and much to gain from our respective potential. We believe that if adopted, the recommendations set out in this report – which have been developed by businesses across the UK and India – will help to deepen and strengthen our collaboration and opportunities for growth in the future.”
Uday Kotak, managing director and chief executive of Kotak Mahindra Bank and India chair of the IUKFP, added: “India and the UK have a long-standing economic relationship, with the UK being one of India’s top trading partners. Both countries also have world-class fintech ecosystems, making them natural partners in financial innovation.
“The UK can learn from India’s successful experience in payment systems whereas for Indian fintech firms and unicorns, the UK could be a good source for both growth capital and emerging technology pool. The recommendations presented in this report can further enhance the fintech ecosystem, benefitting financial inclusion and the creation of new benchmarks across the globe.”
The new report comes after India and the UK held the second meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue on 19 April 2023, to deepen bilateral ties in the financial sector.