In India, the digital revolution has transformed countless industries and markets to become smarter and more efficient. For instance, the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance) sector. In fact, that’s how Fintech (Financial Technology) came into being.
Today, the ease in shopping—or literally any other online financial activity—that we experience is because of the remarkable fintech developments that occurred over the past decade. From UPI to BNPL, these payment solution innovations in India have mostly been well-received by the audience.
This also had a strong penumbral effect on other industries. Let’s take the e-commerce sector, for example. By FY26, it’s expected to hit a record high value of ₹900K crore, and BFSI innovations are a huge contributing factor behind this.
But what’s coming up? What’s going to be the next groundbreaking innovation in this sector? Read this blog to find out.
What are BFSI Payment Solutions?
As the name suggests, BFSI payment solutions refer to financial products and services intended for use in the banking, financial services, and insurance sectors. The USP of these solutions is that they optimise the power of modern technology to facilitate the entire payment procedure for a business.
Some of the most common BFSI payment solutions include online banking, digital wallets, P2P (Peer-to-Peer) payment platforms, ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments, RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement), etc.
For a business, these innovative BFSI payment solutions offer many advantages over others. To give a brief context, here are a few of them:
Convenience | BFSI payment solutions offer unparalleled ease. With their help, you can easily transfer funds to another business with just a few taps. |
Efficiency | These payment techniques are way more efficient than the regular ones. They save your business’s valuable time and your employee’s effort. |
Security | BFSI payment solutions are highly secure in nature. Each transaction is encrypted and requires multi-factor authentication to be processed. |
Accessibility | As these payment solutions are mostly accessible via mobile devices, you do not need to visit your bank for every merchant payment. This escalates the financial accessibility of a business. |
Pervasiveness | From SWIFT to RuPay, there are multiple BFSI innovations that facilitate global transactions, giving your business the scope to expand internationally. |
Features of BFSI Payment Solutions
You know that technology is the lifeblood of a BFSI payment module. But that’s just one side of the coin. In actuality, such payment solutions are so efficacious that they can simplify your business’s entire financial framework.
Wondering how? Well, here are three of their salient features that will definitely help you understand that:
Easy to use
Most BFSI payment solutions boast an uncomplicated, user-friendly interface. Whether it’s sending or receiving payments, the entire process is not just easy to execute but also very transparent and effortless to manage.
Offer multi-channel access
Gone are the days when you had to visit a bank’s branch to remit payments physically. With the emergence of smart BFSI payment solutions like online banking, mobile apps, and RuPay, your business can now access payment services virtually, too.
Support contactless payment
Over two-thirds of retailers have already shifted to faster and more convenient payment techniques by embracing contactless payment in 2021. So, if your business is still lagging in this aspect, choose BFSI payment solutions like NFC and QR scan codes.
Tip: Looking for a payment aggregator that offers contactless BFSI payment solutions? Plural by Pine Labs is your answer! With our Affordability Suite, you can effortlessly offer several contactless payment options to your customers. For more details, tap here.
5 Top BFSI Innovations To Watch Out for in 2024
In terms of BFSI innovations, the years bygone have proved to be absolutely phenomenal. But now, let’s see what’s in store for the future:
Sustainable Finance
With the ever-increasing global concern regarding sustainability, the topmost BFSI innovation likely to materialise in 2024 is Sustainable Finance.
Under this initiative, banks and non-banking financial institutions will promote the development of sectors actively and passively involved in renewable energy, recycling processes, and other sustainable activities by redirecting customer funds towards them.
This way, the carbon footprint will be reduced while customers continue to earn massive interest on their investments.
Open Banking
Open Banking is another trailblazing BFSI innovation set to emerge in 2024.
By using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), banks will empower their end customers (individuals and corporates) to handle their own crucial data and share it with third-party payment aggregators to enhance financial accessibility and efficiency.
This will also establish a collaborative banking environment and encourage healthy competition.
Generative AI
Since AI is already manifesting in some of the most crucial sectors of the economy, how can BFSI remain an exception?
In 2024, Generative AI will be live in fintech in the form of smart chatbots assisting customers with their banking needs. Trained in natural language, these powerful AI models will guide people in their investment strategies, financial planning, and other crucial aspects of banking—safely, with a touch of personalisation.
Regtech
Regtech, an abbreviation for “Regulatory Technology,” is the concoction of AI with regulatory compliance.
This ingenious BFSI initiative aims to leverage the power of AI to foster legal compliance and regulation. Through its application, banks strive to automate complex regulatory tasks to enable customers to use banking services more efficiently.
Blockchain Banking
Blockchain Banking is also a highly anticipated innovation in the BFSI sector in 2024.
Although in its initial stage, this invention is likely to revolutionise many BFSI payment methods, including smart contracts and cross-border payments. In essence, DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) will enable customers to access a common yet encrypted record of transactions, thereby increasing banking transparency and accountability.
Wrapping up
The development of the BFSI sector is instrumental for every industry, as it directly impacts how a business handles its finances. Although its horizons have expanded with the emergence of fintech, there is still room for development. But looking at the forthcoming prospects of BFSI innovations in India, one thing’s for sure: the future is bright. So, brace your business to capitalise on them!
In this context, you can check out the Plural Affordability Suite.
Plural, a digital payment aggregator that offers debit and credit card EMIs, brand EMIs, and BNPL, along with 25 other payment options, is your one-stop solution for all futuristic payments. To learn more, write to us at pgsupport@pinelabs.com.
Plural by Pine Labs has received an in-principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Payment Aggregator.