Fintech cos to unlock wealth in digital villages, build loan portfolios

Greater use of digital payments in rural areas would generate more alternate data to assess loan seekers, they say

Fintech companies are looking to tap a wider chunk of rural customers after the Union government's announcement to create 100,000 digital villages over the next five years.

With digital villages, fintech firms hope to leverage more data to reach out to potential loan seekers.

“The initiative to build 100,000 digital villages would mean more money being transacted digitally as the finance minster said (in his budget speech) that we are possibly the lowest when it comes to mobile and data tariffs in the world. Digitally progressive would also mean better internet connectivity and hence, we expect the untapped rural consumers