Global expansion, AI, and consumer adoption are key themes at Global Fintech Festival, says Pine Labs CEO Amrish Rau

Pine Labs Chairman and CEO Amrish Rau on Monday said that the fintech ecosystem in India is “absolutely buzzing” as consumers increasingly embrace digital payments. Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the Global Fintech Festival (GFF), Rau highlighted three key themes for the event: global expansion, artificial intelligence, and growing consumer adoption.

“Over the last few years, the ecosystem has matured significantly. There are more transactions happening through fintech apps and products today than on banking rails and apps,” Rau said. “Consumers are accepting fintech, and that is just a great sign.”

Rau pointed out that Indian fintech is expanding beyond the domestic market, with the global adoption of UPI being a major milestone. “On the back of what the government is doing and also what NPCI and maybe a little bit what we founders are doing, our fintech is now going global. If you see where UPI has started to go global, that's a very significant play,” he said.

He also added that the festival’s theme focuses on AI and its potential to transform the fintech space, saying, “We really wanted to explore what AI is going to bring to the fintech space. There's a lot happening out there, and I’m quite excited with the buzz.”

While Rau did not comment on Pine Labs’ specific plans for overseas markets, he noted that fintech globally is exploring large opportunities, including faster payments in the US through stablecoins and improving access to payments in Africa and Southeast Asia. He added that many solutions developed in India are relevant for these international markets.

Rau also spoke about the key drivers of growth in fintech, emphasising the need to make commerce easier for businesses and consumers. “Consumers want faster payments. Merchants want to be able to receive money really quickly using all possible form factors. Financial institutions today have become warehouses of money. They are saying if we can move payment systems faster, we can continue in our role in money management,” he said.

On fintech diversification, Rau explained that companies must focus on their core strengths. “There are two parts to the word fintech: ‘Fin’ which is financial services, and ‘tech’. Some businesses say they want to be the financial services of fintech. Others, like us, say we are the tech of fintech. There is money to be made once you really zone in on your strength and where you want to build your company,” he said.

Watch accompanying video for entire conversation.Read about our editorial guidelines and ethics policy