The digital supercycle is unfolding. Industry veteran KV Kamath, Chairman of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) highlighted how the incumbent financial services players will fall out behind in this digital supercycle if they don’t accelerate their technology transformation.
“The digital acceleration happened under adversity, with Covid. We were in a freeze. The digital supercycle is unfolding. We see the entire digitech space expanding at a much faster pace, tools being developed faster, Sas solutions are being offered which will be good for all,” he said.
He asserted that to survive, incumbent players need to gear up and reset themselves, their minds.
“To survive we will need to reset the incumbents, reset their minds to help them go along. Incumbent financial services players, banks — if they don’t overlay modern technology they will face challenges,” he stated.
He further added that neobanks will pose challenges to banks. “It is not regulated yet, it is providing app interface to the banks now, and they are collaborating now but once it gets regulated, they will disrupt the entire banking space,” he said.
The industry veteran highlighted that the digital supercycle is going to be a 25 year old runway, and India is yet to be built, there will be opportunity for growth, to build, and all in a digital way and MSME sector will play a key role here.
He added how technology is a disruptor today and how with open source, it is going to be free going ahead.
KV Kamath was speaking at the Global SME Finance Forum 2023 in Mumbai.
