By Dilip Modi, Founder of Spice Money
“India has come a long way in its digital journey with over 70% of the total population residing in rural areas now getting access to banking and financial services with the help of more than 30 lakh rural banking outlets across the country. 2022 has seen some successful and noteworthy initiatives undertaken by the government including 123 Pay, and launch of 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) in 75 districts. These initiatives are addressing the under-penetration of banking and financial services, dearth of financial literacy & awareness as well as employment opportunities prevailing in Bharat. Other initiatives like ONDC are democratising e-commerce in India and shaping future of global ecommerce.
2023 is going to be a game changing year for the rural fintech ecosystem. For the Indian economy to grow, the rural segment has to grow and with the pool of opportunities presented by technology and internet penetration, it will also take India towards the dream of a $5 trillion economy size by the turn of this decade or sooner. As we step into 2023, rural fintech is bound to grow by leaps and bounds, some features that will continue to be important for the rural population are customisation, sachetization, and assisted journey of banking & payment services. 2023 will pave the way for a rural fintech revolution that will focus on cashless transactions, embedded finance, and open banking for hyper-personalization, leading to increased digital