Over the past five to seven years, the digital-payments sector has grown stupendously, transcending economic and geographical barriers. Naveen Kukreja, co-founder and chief executive officer of Paisabazaar, a digital lending platform, talks about five drivers of growth in the lending in the country.
- Digitisation: After the pandemic, there have been accelerated efforts by the industry to build digital capabilities. Thanks to progressive regulations by the RBI and sharp focus from the industry, large consumer segments can today access unsecured loans and get credit cards through end-to-end digital processes with ease.
- Rich Data Ecosystem: Under-penetration of credit was largely due to lack of robust financial information infrastructure. But with a mature credit bureau and initiatives like GST, Account Aggregator, etc., we can expect innovative underwriting models to streamline processes and offer seamless access, even to the traditionally credit-starved.
- Ease of Access: Broken processes had led to challenges in distribution of credit, as access was largely restricted to consumers from the from the top cities. A strong digital infrastructure is steadily enabling expansion of formal credit, with access easing for consumers from Tier III and IV towns and beyond.
- Young India’s Interest: There is a clear comfort and confidence among young indians in using credit and also managing it well, which leads to strong credit health and in the long run, augurs well for an inclusive lending ecosystem.
- Technology: Technology will play a pivotal role in improving accuracy of offers, quicker decisioning and easing of processes. We will also see more AI- and analystics-led solutions in collection processes, to help identify trends, potential risks and opportunities.
As published in Outlook Business Magazine on March 3, 2024.