Panel Discussion- Fintech x Banks: Digital Credit & Beyond
At a recent event, the 5th edition of the BW Businessworld Festival of Fintech, our CEO, Puja Abhishek Singh, participated in the panel discussion along with prominent voices from the fintech ecosystem and explored how innovation is transforming credit access for India’s underserved segments, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and rural borrowers.
She talked about how digital lending and financial inclusion could change Bharat’s economy with the game changing potential of the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), growing significance of Fintech-Bank & NBFCs Partnerships, is essential to unlock India’s true credit potential.
She also highlighted how AI, Tech Innovation, and regulatory alignment – especially with the RBI’s co-lending guidelines – can drive transparent, scalable, and customer-first lending models that bring the unorganized MSME sector into the formal financial ecosystem.
Technology as an Enabler of Financial Inclusion
While Talking about ULI, she underlined how digital infrastructure, particularly digitised land records and interfaces like ULI, are rapidly evolving into critical enablers of credit distribution, and serve as a valuable input for underwriting and credit evaluation, especially for micro-merchants and self-employed borrowers who lack formal financial documentation.
Addressing Regulatory Gaps with Gold-Tech
Highlighting recent RBI concerns over inconsistent gold loan valuations among NBFCs, Puja shared how Manipal Fintech is leveraging AI-Tech to bring standardization, reliability, and speed to the gold loan journey. Using AI for gold loan assessment can be a promising approach. “It allows us to classify different ornaments into distinct categories accurately and consistently”.
We are now focusing on driving such innovations to ensure reliable assessments while keeping costs low. This innovation is central to Manipal Fintech’s phygital model, which blends physical infrastructure with advanced digital tools to reach deep into Bharat’s financial landscape.
Fintech x Banks: A Responsible Lending Ecosystem
Puja Singh also spoke about the importance of ecosystem collaboration. She stressed that building trust at scale requires seamless partnerships between banks, NBFCs, Fintechs, and regulatory bodies.
“Frameworks like the RBI’s co-lending model allow financial institutions to combine their strengths – be it balance sheet, distribution, or technology – and work together to serve a broader base of borrowers,” she added.
Manipal Fintech is actively working with leading banks and financial partners to create co-lending journeys that are compliant, scalable, and focused on real customer needs, especially in the gold loan segment and MSME financing.
Tapping into Bharat’s Credit Potential
India’s credit demand in rural and semi-urban markets continues to grow, and this demand requires more than just outreach – it requires understanding local behaviors, repayment patterns, and formal economic structures.
“Credit for Bharat must be designed for Bharat. It’s not about copying urban models but building solutions that respect the diversity and complexity of these markets,” Puja said.
