Blockchain will dominate discussions at the Fintech Storm India Summit 2016, which opens Thursday in Mumbai. The two-day conference will feature a dedicated half-day workshop with the National Payment
Blockchain will dominate discussions at the Fintech Storm India Summit 2016, which opens Thursday in Mumbai. The two-day conference will feature a dedicated half-day workshop with the National Payments Corporation of India and the Reserve Bank of India.
The session will explore financial inclusion, micropayments, voting, subsidy distribution, and asset tracking using blockchain technology.
Arifa Khan, founder of Fintech Storm, expressed optimism about the appetite for blockchain in India. "There's real appetite for blockchain in India, from banks, NPCI and RBI," she said. She believes the technology can "reinvent banking and transform every known process of financial services transactions" in retail, corporate, and investment banking globally.
Khan sees applications beyond finance. The technology can modernize voting systems, governance, health records, education, tax compliance, and immigration. "Anything that involves large databases can be made more efficient using blockchain technology," she said.
She envisions new industries emerging outside banking and insurance. "I foresee the spawning of entirely new industries outside of banking, financial services and insurance, such as outsourced and decentralized market research and reviews facilitated by a consumer app, experience-discovery platforms, low cost accessibility of e-education, e-healthcare and other essential goods to improve the quality of life for Indians," Khan said. "We can hope for technology to elegantly solve the myriad problems of opacity in economy and non-compliance that the regulators and law making bodies grapple with," she added.
Marc Pilkington, a professor at University of Burgundy in France, will co-host the workshop with Khan. Both are involved in the Global Blockchain Think Tank, an initiative that will be officially announced during the summit.
"Blockchain is taking the world by storm with the emergence of a new paradigm in banking and finance, and even in the way economic agents will interact in the future by designing new structures, new architectures and new protocols for conducting a wide range of human activities," Pilkington said.
The Reserve Bank of India is looking at blockchain technology to understand its possible implications for India's banking and financial services industry. The RBI is assembling an internal committee of banks, fintech firms, and ecosystem participants to establish appropriate regulatory policy.
Khan pointed to the RBI's "openness" and its efforts to keep pace with international regulators. The central bank has taken steps to support fintech firms, issuing guidelines to enhance financial inclusion and facilitate microfinance expansion.
The summit starts May 12 and will bring together hundreds of delegates, along with more than 50 globally renowned speakers. Sessions will address the evolving payments landscape, online lending and peer-to-peer funding, as well as financial inclusion and microfinance.
