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Pre-budget Wishlist: Comments From New Age FinTech Players

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Sharan Nair, Chief Business Officer, CoinSwitch Kuber:

“Various macroeconomic developments in India and the world over the last year have led to a rise in crypto adoption in India. Today, leading crypto exchanges follow strict self-regulatory practices to ensure customer protection. We hope the upcoming Union Budget will bring in regulatory clarity and help standardize best practices, address misconceptions around this emerging asset class. We believe a regularised environment will encourage more Indians to start their crypto investing journey, promoting financial inclusion in line with the government’s vision.’’

Pratik Gauri, Co-founder & CEO, 5ire:

“Crypto technology and blockchain are long-term phenomena that are not going away.  And as the government regulations focus on protecting its constituency from the bad it does, it should also look towards utilizing its power of good for better governance and accountability.  India has been a significant player in developing solutions for the rest of the world with modern technology; it is high time we become a model of utilizing it ourselves.

The Union budget should include more resources to make our cities into more efficient, better governed, smart cities.  We can create models in infinite ways, from more robust policing to e-voting, to more efficient ways to provide public services leveraging blockchain. The Union budget can aspire to not only reflect the value these services deliver day-to-day but to audit, be accountable, and find ways to provide a ground swell in adoption of blockchain technology in the meat and bones of the largest democracy in the world.

Lastly, the Union Budget 2022 can be a starting point for adopting the UN 2030 Sustainability goals not only in words but in spirit to address a spectrum of work areas, chief among them environmental sustainability, or the intentional and careful use of natural capital such as water, air, solar, mineral resources, timber, and land.”

Lalit Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Decimal Technologies:

“2021 was a transformative year for the fintech industry with significant technology adoption in financial services. While traditional lending still accounts as a major credit provider in India, digital lending has picked up pace with the ease of process, less paperwork and use of alternate data sources, making it a key enabler for the MSME sector.

Fintech players have already shown willingness to work with the government to curb the menace of the illegal digital lending apps. Budget 2022 should introduce regulations that will help in greater credit access to MSMEs and curbing illegal activities while building trust in the digital lending process for the last mile. In line with the government’s goal of creating a digital economy, introducing credit schemes will incentivise the sector and help in providing timely credit to MSMEs that have struggled due to the lack of credit accessibility through traditional means of lending which has directly affected their business opportunity. We have also seen a rise in the number of start-ups who have turned unicorns in the last year that showcases the potential of the startup ecosystem in India. We expect the government to introduce regulatory changes that would create an easy line of access for start-ups & MSMEs to secure credit from online lending players. This will further help in boosting our economy”.

Ashraf Rizvi, Founder & CEO, Gilded:

“Gold has always been an important part of savings/ investment/ wealth portfolios not only in India but also across the world. In India, however, investment in gold is as much a cultural phenomenon as it is a financial one. This cultural tradition has adapted to the times with the introduction of digital gold. This new, convenient, and safer way to access physical gold has seen increased investments from new-age first-time investors. Millennial and Gen Z age categories undoubtedly take to this storage-proof, quality-assured, easy-to-transact new-age asset. Multiple wealth-tech applications have come to the fore, highlighting the growing need for a progressive regulatory framework for this asset class.

 While gold has been a stable store of value with positive returns over the historical long term, the future demand for the digital alternative will depend in no small part on government regulations and policies. The Union Budget should be looking at formulating transparent guidelines for investor protection and chalking out a clearly defined regulatory framework consistent with other parts of the gold industry. Currently, capital gains on profits from the sale of gold can be as high as 20% compared to profits on shares taxed at 10%. An alignment among the tax regimes for investments would give investors greater flexibility in choosing the assets that best fit their needs as a store of value and foundation for wealth creation.

Increasingly, the world will look for fast, efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly ways to assign and move value without excessive paperwork or the need to transport physical objects. Digital gold is an essential first step in this technological evolution. The Union Budget 2022 can bring in proper regulatory guidance, framework, and business incentives, and pave the way for India to become a leader in developing the capabilities, technology, and infrastructure necessary to digitize physical gold assets.” 

Dilip Modi, Founder, Spice Money:

‘’The fintech industry has fared really well in the last two years with the pandemic playing a key role in the digital adoption of financial services across the country. With the government making strides through several initiatives including the recently set up Fintech Department and the introduction of Payment Investment Development Fund (PIDF), the sector is expecting to see more opportunities and initiatives being taken forward by the government that will help in the expansion of the market, influence customer behaviour, and impact long term changes in the financial industry.

As our country sets upon the goal of hitting the $5-trillion mark by 2025, I expect the digital economy to grow even further, with a majority of India’s population and small businesses adopting digital means to access payments and financial services. The rural sector will play a huge part in achieving this economic landmark, and the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23 should ensure there’s a special focus on bolstering rural development. Exemptions on procurement of point of sale terminals, GST rates for rural banking agents remitting funds among households, and subsidies to compensate for merchant discount rate (MDR) waiver are among some of the measures that will help in promoting digital awareness and initiatives across the country.”

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