UK fintech firms hold talks to access Indian market

Around 15 financial technology (fintech) companies from Britain today held roundtable discussions here to explore opportunities for expanding in the Indian market.
The meeting at India House in London was coordinated by the City of London Corporation as part of the Access India Programme, a flagship scheme of the Indian High Commission to support UK businesses access the Make in India initiative of the Indian government.
"Many fintechs in the city have long seen the potential of India's market, but have been unsure about how to access the opportunities. The roundtable today should go some way to helping UK fintechs expand their operations in India, said Sherry Madera, City of London Corporations Special Adviser for Asia and chair of the roundtable.

UK-based companies like Digital Shadows, Onfido, Global Processing Services (GPS) and PESB joined representatives from the UK's Department for International Trade, the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) and Innovate Finance to deliberate on the barriers and challenges the UK firms face when entering India's market and the ways to resolve these.
Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Y K Sinha, highlighted that fintech has been identified as a major priority for the development of the financial and digital infrastructure in India, with companies in India set to benefit from the "India Stack" that the Indian government has established through financial inclusion and the Aadhaar system.

"As per a report by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the Indian fintech software market is forecast to touch USD 2.4 billion by 2020 from the current USD 1.2 billion. This provides a great opportunity to UK fintech firms to collaborate in India's quest to transform the lives of 1.2 billion people, Sinha said, adding that the Indian High Commission is keen to support companies interested in entering India through the Access India Programme.
Joanne Dewar, Deputy CEO of Global Processing Services (GPS), welcomed the "great initiative" that could lead to stronger innovative collaborations between India and the UK.

"India offers access to a pool of highly-skilled individuals that can make a real positive impact on any business operations, she said.