UK and India to strengthen fintech cooperation

The UK and India are looking to strengthen their fintech cooperation, which could increase access to global talent and new sources of capital.

A new report from the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) makes a number of recommendations to both the country’s authorities and regulators.

They urge the UK to implement the recommendations of the Kalifa Review and encourage both countries to learn from each other’s successes.

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The report urges the UK to launch a UK-India mobility partnership with a fintech lens, to ensure access to global talent.

It also proposes a coalition on digital ID, learning from India’s experience of its own successful scheme and with payment systems.

And it suggests the development of the UK as a complementary source of capital for Indian fintech firms and unicorns thinking of going public.

Meanwhile, the report urges India to leverage the “India Stack”, considering how access to the new account aggregator framework, which allows data to be shared between multiple parties, can be extended to more domestic and international firms and foster innovation.

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It also highlights areas including interoperability and bank switching, where it says India can learn from the UK’s open banking experience.

It also suggests that India could consider the development of fintech platforms for corporate finance, which could encourage cross-border trade and capital flows between India and the UK.

And finally, it proposes to improve the fintech ecosystem with cyber security and data protection, and ally India and the UK’s data sharing regimes to share best practices.

“The UK and India are both world-leading FinTech centers and are natural partners in financial innovation,” said Bill Winters, Group CEO, Standard Chartered and UK Chair of the IUKFP.

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“There is much to learn from our respective successes and much to gain from our respective potential. We believe that, if adopted, the recommendations in this report – which have been developed by businesses across the UK and India – will help deepen and strengthen our cooperation and the possibilities for growth in the future.”

Uday Kotak, Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank and India Chair of IUKFP, added: “India and the UK have a long-standing economic relationship, with the UK being one of India’s top trading partners. Both countries also have world-class fintech ecosystems , making them natural partners in financial innovation.

“The UK can learn from India’s successful experience in payment systems, while for Indian fintech firms and unicorns, the UK can be a good source of both growth capital and emerging technology pool. The recommendations presented in this report can further improve the fintech ecosystem, benefiting financial inclusion and the establishment of new benchmarks worldwide.”

The new report comes after India and the UK held the second meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue on April 19, 2023, to deepen bilateral ties in the financial sector.