In 2025, fintech in India and beyond moved decisively from rapid experimentation to real-world impact. From UPI-driven payment maturity and embedded finance becoming mainstream, to tighter regulation bringing clarity and confidence, the sector began proving its long-term value to consumers, businesses, and governments alike. As we head into 2026, fintech’s role is set to deepen further, shifting focus from sheer growth to sustainable innovation, trusted infrastructure, and intelligent financial services powered by AI, data, and compliance-by-design.
The Tech Panda asked industry experts how fintech contributed to the ecosystem in 2025 and what we can expect in 2026.
Bhavin Patel, Co-Founder & CEO, Vartis Platforms & LenDenClub
2025 has marked a year of reset for the digital lending ecosystem. After two years of intense regulatory shifts, the industry has now reached a point of clarity, stability, and shared understanding with regulators. This has been a year of adapting, rebuilding, and proving that strong compliance, transparent product flows, and customer-first models can create a healthier landscape for both borrowers and lenders alike.
As we look ahead to 2026, I believe it will be the growth year for digital lending in its new form. This will serve as the foundational year where benchmarks are set, and long-term models begin scaling sustainably. For P2P lending in particular, lender confidence is at an all-time high, and demand continues to outpace the supply of borrowers. With stable regulations, predictable cash flows, and clearer risk assessments, lenders today are prioritizing consistency more than ever.
I expect consumer credit and small business loans to drive momentum in 2026, as digital lenders double down on segments where underwriting maturity and capabilities have been built over the past few years. AI will play a pivotal role in accelerating this shift, enhancing credit models, streamlining reconciliation, transforming support operations, and enabling faster, more seamless customer journeys. The primary beneficiaries will be quality borrowers who will experience quicker approvals and more efficient processes.
For P2P platforms, 2026 represents an opportunity to stay true to the marketplace model, building trust through transparency, robust technology, and responsible growth. While we’re still tapping into only a fraction of India’s credit demand, the next two years will see significant expansion as more retail investors discover P2P lending as a credible alternative for fixed income.
Savita Vashist, Co-founder and Executive Director, NPST
India’s digital payments ecosystem is not merely expanding; it is undergoing a profound evolution characterised by deeper capability, broader inclusion, and more robust infrastructure. We observe four defining shifts that are charting the course ahead
Financial Inclusion via Voice-Led Payments: RBI aims to expand India’s digital payments user base to one billion by 2029, implying nearly three-fold growth from current levels. Achieving this scale will depend on inclusive solutions that address structural access gaps. India still has close to 300 million feature-phone users, many on 2G networks, who remain outside app-based UPI. Innovations such as UPI 123 are beginning to close this divide. By enabling voice-led transactions, these inclusive solutions extend digital payments to users without smartphones and to those hesitant to engage with conventional digital interfaces, advancing the ecosystem toward genuine financial ubiquity.
The Globalisation of UPI: The international adoption of UPI is rapidly forging a foundation for faster, more inclusive, and dramatically more efficient cross-border payment flows. This creates a powerful new corridor for commerce and remittances.
Reinforcing the Banking Layer: The introduction of Banking Connect by NBBL is fundamentally strengthening the underlying banking access layer. It provides a secure and consistent interface that effectively modernises the net banking experience across diverse institutions, enhancing overall reliability.
Proactive Fraud Management: Rising fraud, with 2.4 million cases in FY25, proves that the traditional rules-based security is obsolete against sophisticated threats. To counter synthetic merchants and complex patterns, we are now pivoting to an AI-powered defence posture. This relies on Machine Learning for real-time behavioural intelligence and proactive risk management. Embedding this security ensures sustained user trust and is fundamental to the continued scaling of India’s digital economy.
As the digital payments ecosystem advances, our core responsibility is to ensure that innovation and trust advance in lockstep. Only by doing so can we ensure that India’s payments architecture continues to serve as a global benchmark for accessibility, security, and scale.
Akshay Mehrotra, Managing Director and Group CEO, Fibe
India’s fintech industry is evolving at a breakneck pace and the year saw innovations in UPI with the platform introducing enhanced features for ease of use and transparency, simplified credit access and the landmark GST rationalisation, all contributing towards a wider democratization of financial services. Alongside the ecosystem, consumers have evolved too. They are more informed, more tech savvy and expect seamless experiences. They are looking for solutions that make it easier for them to split their bills, apply for credit or manage their money.
We are seeing interesting behaviour among young consumers who are increasingly investing in self growth and self care. Education financing for upskilling and specialised courses continues to rise. There is also strong demand for credit in categories such as cosmetic procedures, dental care, wellness treatments and other lifestyle enhancements that support their confidence, careers and overall quality of life. We expect these categories to grow further as personal investment becomes a mainstream priority.
This year also marked a shift in how technology and policy are shaping financial services. Regulatory clarity from the RBI, wider adoption of Account Aggregator, stronger consent based data flows and the rise of embedded finance are all contributing to a more transparent and responsible ecosystem. At the same time, advances in AI based underwriting and real time data signals are helping lenders better understand risk, improve decision making and support the unsecured segment as it steadily recovers from the recent credit cycle. These innovations are ensuring that growth remains sustainable and customer friendly.
As we close the year, the trajectory is clear. Fintech in India is no longer limited to digital payments and basic credit access. It is about empowering young India, enabling aspiration and strengthening financial inclusion. Fintech companies that can deliver trust, intelligence and convenience will define the next chapter of India’s financial evolution.
Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD and CEO, PayNearby
2025 has been a year of expanding access and strengthening trust across India’s last mile. It showed us that when technology and local trust come together, economic participation grows meaningfully. UPI remained at the centre of this shift, contributing to almost 85 percent of all digital transactions. Its adoption is rising rapidly across rural Bharat as well, where assisted digital ecosystems are enabling millions to transact with confidence. The growing reach of UPI continues to capture global attention, reinforcing India’s position as a leader in real-time payments.
This year also brought important policy advancements. The government’s focus on digital empowerment through tax reforms, MSME-led schemes, expansion of Digital Banking Units, and greater recognition of Business Correspondents has helped deepen financial access across Bharat. The rollout of GST 2.0 has eased compliance for smaller businesses, while updated authentication standards have made digital transactions safer for millions of users.
2026 will see the convergence of AI-led payments, increased digital trust, and deeper financial participation. Fintechs will need to intensify their support for retail & MSMEs as they adapt to a fast-evolving, technology-driven economy. In the coming year, we expect sharper focus on expanding digital adoption across Bharat, stronger authentication frameworks, and clearer compliance pathways for small businesses.
Reeju Datta, Co-founder, Cashfree Payments
2025 wasn’t just a milestone year for India’s digital payments ecosystem, it was the year India proved that financial innovation can be both massively inclusive and globally scalable. UPI cemented its evolution from a domestic payments stack into one of the world’s most interoperable, real-time payment rails. With innovations like biometric payments, Credit on UPI, UPI Lite, among others, India showed how technology, when paired with the right regulatory guardrails, can expand access without compromising trust. Tier-2 and Tier-3 India didn’t just come online; they became active contributors to the country’s formal financial economy. The year also witnessed AI take centre stage with conversational and agentic payments being piloted, making selling and buying online truly seamless, intelligent and fast. Another big highlight of the year was the growth and momentum at which Indian exporters scaled their global sales, and the entry of global SaaS players to sell to India as a high intent consumer market. This truly borderless payments experience has put India on the global pedestal as a formidable e-commerce hub.
As we step into 2026, the next era of growth will be defined by interoperability across platforms and borders, embedded financial experiences woven seamlessly into every product, and an AI-first ethos that makes payments not just faster, but safer, smarter, and fundamentally more user-centric. At Cashfree Payments, we’re committed to building the secure, fraud-proof, globally connected payments infrastructure that powers every kind of business, startups, SMEs, and enterprises in India and beyond.
Ramki Gaddapati, Co-founder, APAC CEO & Global CTO, Zeta
“2025 has been a strong year for India’s fintech ecosystem, and 2026 is set to be a defining phase of evolution. We’re already seeing traditional boundaries blur- payments, lending, embedded finance, and banking capabilities are coming closer together as players look to build more integrated and efficient models. While payments continue to be powerful for driving access and engagement, long-term value will come from combining scale with operational efficiency across the financial stack.
“Regulatory clarity will be central to how this next phase plays out. With DPDP Act coming into effect and the RBI’s move toward stronger, multi-factor authentication for digital payments, the industry will spend a lot of time strengthening governance, data responsibility, and security. This shouldn’t be seen as a constraint; it’s an opportunity to build deeper trust and resilience across the ecosystem.
“2026 will also bring sharper focus on where profitability truly lies, along with more thoughtful platform strategies and disciplined technology choices. Not everything needs to be built in-house, and collaboration between banks, fintechs, and technology providers will matter more than ever.
“AI will act as a major catalyst, especially across servicing, collections, underwriting support, and operational efficiency. Customer-facing adoption will follow with the right safeguards in place. At the same time, improvements in KYC, authentication, and fraud prevention will continue to expand access and confidence in digital financial services.
“That said, 2026 is shaping up to be an important inflection point, where scale meets sustainability, innovation aligns with regulation, and the ecosystem moves toward long-term, inclusive growth.”
Matías Gainza Eurnekian, CEO, Federal Card Services (FCS)
“The year 2025 has been a breakthrough year for the premium and sustainable payments industry. India has seen a sharp rise in the adoption of metal and ultra-premium cards, driven by customers who value durability and a differentiated experience. Increasingly, the physical card itself has become an asset of differentiation and sophistication, a tangible object that communicates identity and strengthens the value proposition versus peers. At the same time, sustainability has shifted from a technical feature to a defining element of modern luxury. Recyclable metals, bio-based materials and responsible manufacturing are no longer add-ons; they are central to how premium products are designed and valued today. Consumers increasingly associate luxury with conscious choices, distinctive craftsmanship and environmental responsibility, creating a new era where every card reflects both individuality and purpose.
“What has stood out this year is the clarity of premium consumer behaviour. Metal cards are becoming more popular as symbols of durability, craftsmanship, and sophisticated design. They serve as a tangible contrast to the increasingly digital payments landscape. At the same time, India is solidifying its role as a key manufacturing hub for advanced payment technologies. This is supported by rising investments, increased capacity, and a developing ecosystem dedicated to innovation and responsible production.
“Looking ahead to 2026, the priorities for our sector are evident. The transition to sustainable materials will accelerate, physical cards will become more technology-rich, and India will play a far larger role in the global supply chain for premium and eco-friendly payment cards. As customers demand products that combine performance, design and responsibility, our focus at Federal Card Services will be on scaling innovation, deepening R&D in India, and building solutions that set new global benchmarks.”
