India's Fintech Growth Significant For UK: Adam Taylor, British High Commission

India's fintech growth is significant for the United Kingdom (UK), said Adam Taylor, Head of Economics and Finance at the British High Commission. “India has been one of the fastest growing economies of the world and in the UK we are quite excited seeing the potential which India offers,” he said while addressing the audience at the second edition of Fintech Festival India.

In November, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak-led government declared to invest GBP 30 billion (USD 37 billion) in various sectors across the country. Taylor said, “This significant development spans various sectors including renewable energy, technology, life sciences and infrastructure, with the potential to create over 12,000 jobs. The PM's ambitious goal is to double this by 2030.”

Taylor also highlighted the linguistic similarities between India and the UK stating ‘English’ acts as a bridge of language and culture which bolsters ties between the two nations.

He also mentioned the valuable role that the Indian diaspora is playing by mentioning, “The UK houses about 2 million people of Indian origin which constitutes 3.1 per cent of the country’s population. This also includes the Prime Minister of the UK.”

The second UK-India Financial Markets Dialogue (IUKFP) was held in London in April 2023. Business leaders from the IUKFP met with the respective finance ministries and regulatory bodies to unveil the IUKFP’s report ‘Harnessing the power of FinTech and data’ and discuss emerging recommendations under the capital markets workstream and share ideas on future priorities for both industry and government.

“Financial services export from India has doubled in the last couple of years. India has more than 3,000 fintech startups. Also, India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world,” he added.

Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has been functional via QR codes in the UK since August 2022. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has said that over five lakh Indians, including over one lakh students travel to the UK every year, and this initiative will certainly help this set of people.

Taylor emphasised, “India is a leader in financial inclusion. UPI helps growing natural businesses at a tremendous pace.”

Taylor also mentioned that as of March 2024, the UK has over 3,100 fintech startups and added that fintech requires technologists, economists and entrepreneurs. "The UK is making significant strides in developing this skill set,” he asserted.

He further said, “New UK Investment fund of GBP 1 billion (USD 1.28 billion) to fintech to back growth-stage financial technology companies.”

Earlier, in IUKFP, both India and the UK explored the scope to leverage asset management industries in favour of deeper cross-border trade and investment.

Sustainable finance was also discussed including existing collaboration between central banks on climate scenario analysis and stress testing, as well as capacity building and spreading awareness on climate Risk and sustainable finance.

“The UK fintech firms have committed to invest over GBP 100 million (USD 128 million) in India. The UK identifies India as the foremost offshore market and is committed to investing in small businesses in India among others,” highlighted the Head of the British High Commission.