Davos 2023 | India An important market, many Fintech startups to work with: Mastercard
CNBC-TV18 caught up with Mike Froman, vice president and president, strategic growth for Mastercard, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to talk about the India story, fintech startups in the country, Mastercard’s 2023 outlook and more.
India is a very important market for MasterCard as it is witnessing a lot of activity in the digital space, UPI said specifically, Mike Froman, vice president and president, strategic growth of Mastercard, told CNBC-TV18 Shereen Bhan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“India’s economy is very strong. It is witnessing a lot of activity, a lot of entrepreneurial activity. We have 7,000 employees in the country, it is a very important market for us,” Froman said, adding that there are many positive developments in India, when it applies to new innovation in the digital space.
On UPI and fintechs
Talking about India’s innovations in the digital space, UPI specifically, and also the expectation that the RBI will allow linking of credit cards to UPI, Froman said that Mastercard generally wants to work with governments and local actors, be relevant and useful in any way it can, to the development of the digital ecosystem. “We all win if the digital ecosystem continues to evolve and develop. We have great partnerships in India, we look forward to continuing to develop them,” he said.
Mastercard has also signed deals with quite a few startups in India, and Froman said they look forward to doing so in the future as well. “There are 10,000s of startups in India in the fintech space that are so innovative and important for us to work with. We have a good relationship with many of them. We have a program that helps incubate fintech and provide them access to our network. and our mentorship and the like. We’ll be very focused on that ecosystem in India, which is the source of so much great innovation in the digital space,” he added.
India’s G20 Presidency
Froman thinks it is a great moment for India to take over the G20 presidency, and it comes at a critical time where further cooperation between countries and between countries and governments as well as their private sectors is needed. “And I think the G20 has really evolved over the last 10 or 15 years and it’s creating great opportunities for the private sector to give feedback, have input on things like the digital economy and financial inclusion,” he said, adding that Mastercard is honored. to be co-leader of the working group for financial inclusion and financial empowerment.
2023 outlook
Froman is of the opinion that for 2023 it is important to prioritize the areas in which Mastercard works, to ensure that as a company it is focused on allocating capital and resources to the highest priority projects. “In the process of doing that, I think it’s important to also focus on the medium and long term and invest in the kind of innovations that create new businesses and new opportunities in the future,” he added.
