Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India’s fintech journey must move beyond the success of digital payments and focus increasingly on expanding access to credit, savings, pensions, insurance and other financial services.

Addressing the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai, Modi said India should build on the scale achieved through its digital payments ecosystem, take its fintech systems and standards to the global stage, and use emerging technologies to make financial services more accessible.

Rating Upgrade Reflects Confidence In India’s Reforms

Modi said India’s reform agenda had strengthened international confidence in the country’s economy, referring to a recent sovereign rating upgrade by a Japanese credit rating agency to the A- category.

He described the upgrade as significant, noting that it had come after nearly 30 years.

According to the Prime Minister, the rating action reflected global confidence in India’s growth momentum, macroeconomic stability and structural reforms undertaken in recent years.

Modi said the pace of reforms would continue and become faster in the coming years.

UPI At The Centre Of India’s Fintech Growth

Describing India’s fintech progress as “remarkable”, Modi said the country’s story in the sector would be incomplete without the Unified Payments Interface, or UPI.

He noted that UPI completed 10 years on August 25 and recalled that the prospect of having banking services readily available at one’s fingertips had once appeared impossible to many.

Modi said millions of people who had remained outside the formal banking system for generations had since been brought into it and had become important participants in India’s inclusive growth.

UPI processed more than 2,400 crore transactions in August alone, Modi said, adding that the country could record more than 50 lakh UPI transactions in just 10 minutes.

He also referred to an earlier comment by French President Emmanuel Macron, who described UPI as not merely a tax story but a “civilisational story”.

PM Calls For UPI Expansion Across Borders

Modi said India should now work towards connecting UPI with countries that have significant trade links with India and large Indian diaspora populations.

He pointed to the large number of Indians working overseas and sending money home, saying a portion of their remittances is lost to transaction costs.

Expanding UPI internationally could help reduce these costs and enable money to reach families in India more quickly, he said.

Modi also said India now had an opportunity to establish its own standards and integrate them with the global financial ecosystem.

“Now we can create our own rules and standards and connect them with the world,” Modi said.

Next Phase Must Expand Access To Credit

Modi said the next chapter of India’s fintech growth should focus on making credit and other financial products more accessible rather than remaining centred primarily on payments.

Illustrating the potential of technology-driven lending, he spoke about a woman running a small shop who receives digital payments every day. Her transactions, income and expenses, he said, can provide a clearer understanding of her business and its financial needs.

As the business expands, she may require funds to purchase inventory or equipment. However, the amount required may be too small for conventional lending models to serve efficiently.

Fintech companies could use available information to better understand such businesses and develop credit models suited to their requirements, Modi said.

“We have shown speed and scale in payments. Now we have to help increase the share of non-payment transactions,” he said.

Technology Can Expand Savings, Pensions And Insurance

The Prime Minister said fintech platforms could also help delivery workers and small business owners gain easier access to savings and pension products.

Technology, he said, could similarly simplify access to insurance and other financial services.

Modi said these services should eventually become as simple, seamless and accessible as making a digital payment by scanning a QR code.

He added that emerging technologies were opening new opportunities for the financial sector and that the challenge would be to translate technological potential into practical benefits for people.

Agentic AI And Tokenisation Create New Possibilities

Modi said 2026 had opened new possibilities for financial services through technologies such as agentic AI, tokenisation and quantum technology.

The priority for the industry, he said, should be to convert these emerging technological capabilities into real-world impact.

He urged companies across the fintech ecosystem to work together and set clear objectives for the sector’s next phase of growth.

PM Outlines Four Priorities For Fintech Sector

Modi identified four areas that he said should form key priorities for India’s fintech industry.

First, he said the country must ensure that its cybersecurity systems are “top-notch”.

Second, he called for the fintech industry to develop its own ethical standards for data protection.

Third, Modi said India needed a strong innovation ecosystem involving fintech companies, regulators and the wider industry.

Fourth, he proposed the creation of a fintech consumer protection index that could provide transparent ratings for companies.

Modi said progress in these areas could help India’s fintech sector emerge as a gateway to a wide range of new possibilities.

‘Focus On Next-Generation Innovation’

The Prime Minister said India already possessed the experience and capability required to take its fintech achievements to the next level.

He said the sector’s progress had been driven by scale, scope, secure systems, democratisation, technology and public trust.

Building on those strengths, Modi urged the industry to focus on “next-generation innovation” and move quickly to convert new ideas and technologies into meaningful impact.

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