Page 83 - ASR_Forewords

FinTechs and an Evolving Ecosystem

When FinTechs were emerging a few years back, there was a
concern amongst banks about compe on from them. The
concern was, however, short-lived. Banks and FinTechs have
started collabora ng closely, paving the way for innova ve
banking products and services. An en re ecosystem led by
regulators as well as both central and stage governments has
been evolving. The ecosystem comprises academic
ins tu ons, incubators, accelerators, start-ups, major IT
companiesandfundingins tu ons.

IDRBT,anins tuteworkingcloselywithacademicins tu ons,
banks and IT companies has taken a few ini a ves to help a closer coordina on among
all of them. FinTech Forum is a pla orm created by IDRBT for enrolment of FinTechs
willing to work closely with banks in the areas of interest and concern to banks. The
forum aims to achieve coordina on in different ways – regular mee ngs, an exchange
for sharing of informa on by FinTechs with others, portal for innova ve ideas of
FinTechs and pain points of banks, and a test bed for FinTechs to test new ideas in the
form of PoCs, prototypes, simulated exercises and test runs with the support of banks.
We are confident the forum would over a period of me posi on itself as a repository
ofFinTechinnova onsusefulforbanks.
We observe that some of the major areas in which FinTechs have been working include
payment systems, mobile banking, analy cs, ar ficial intelligence, cyber security,
customer interface, risk management and blockchain technology. Our researchers are
studying these areas as part of their respec ve research centre ac vi es. In order to
put together the research studies undertaken by them in the areas relevant to
FinTechs, we have chosen the theme for the current IDRBT Staff Paper Series as
FinTech.

There are four ar cles in the present volume, contributed by Dr. Mridula Verma,
Dr. N.V. Narendra Kumar, Dr. V. Radha and D r. M.V.N.K. Prasad on Ar ficial Intelligence,
Blockchain, Security and Financial Inclusion, respec vely. The ar cles present the
present status of academic work in the concerned areas along with opportuni es for
FinTechstoexploitthem.

We trust that this Staff Paper Series will benefit the FinTechs in designing and
deployingtheappropriatesolu onsusefultobanksandtheircustomers.

Date: August 2019
Place: Hyderabad