Richika Dadheech, the Founder and Managing Director of FiatPe, shares her insights on the fintech industry's future. In a recent interview, she highlighted key expectations from Budget 2026, the growth of digital payments, and the impact of artificial intelligence.
Budget 2026 Expectations for Fintech
Dadheech believes India's digital payments ecosystem is growing rapidly. She credits this success to evolving policy frameworks. Real-time updates on data protection, compliance, and innovation have helped UPI become a globally recognized platform.
"Zero MDR has played a critical role in accelerating adoption," she says. This is especially true for small merchants and consumers. At the same time, different pricing for high-volume transactions can keep payment systems secure and reliable.
Such measures support long-term investment without hurting inclusivity. Ultimately, the ecosystem's strength depends on how scale, sustainability, and trust reinforce each other.
Digital Payment Adoption in India
India's rapid adoption of digital payments signals a deeper structural shift. It reflects growing trust in digital infrastructure and increasing formalisation of transactions. There is also a cultural shift toward convenience-driven financial behaviour.
Digital payments are no longer urban-centric or limited to e-commerce. They have moved from being optional to expected in everyday use cases. These include kirana stores, transport, healthcare, and education.
Several factors drive this momentum. The expansion of UPI plays a central role. It offers a low-cost, interoperable, and intuitive payment rail. Smartphone penetration, affordable data, and multilingual interfaces accelerate adoption across demographics.
On the supply side, widespread QR codes, payment gateways, and streamlined merchant onboarding reduce friction for small businesses. Digital payments deliver tangible benefits like faster settlements and improved cash flow visibility. They also reduce dependency on cash handling.
Together, these elements show digital payments are no longer an alternative. They are the default, forming the backbone of a broader digital financial ecosystem.
Steps Toward Stronger Cybersecurity
As digital payments scale to billions of transactions, reliability and security shape user trust directly. From a fintech operator's perspective, the focus is on building systems that anticipate risk rather than react to it.
This means investing continuously in real-time fraud monitoring and layered authentication. Secure architecture must protect users without complicating the payment experience. System resilience is equally important.
Payments have become mission-critical for consumers and merchants. Even short disruptions can impact livelihoods. Strengthening redundancy and improving failover mechanisms are crucial.
Real-time performance dashboards ensure consistent uptime during peak transaction periods. Fraud is evolving in sophistication, making technology decisive. Behavioural analytics and AI-led anomaly detection spot unusual patterns early.
These tools prevent losses without adding friction for genuine users. User awareness cannot be overlooked. Continuous education on safe payment practices remains one of the most effective tools for reducing fraud.
Together, these measures build a payments ecosystem that is secure and dependable at scale.
AI's Role in Shaping Fintech
In fintech, AI's most important impact is not what users see, but what they no longer notice. Systems that work quietly, respond faster, and remain dependable are increasingly powered by AI running in the background.
In payments, AI supports real-time fraud detection and predictive system monitoring. It enables smarter transaction routing, helping platforms operate reliably in high-volume environments like India.
At its best, AI works as a support layer that handles complexity behind the scenes. This allows human teams to focus on judgment, accountability, and customer understanding. Technology enhances speed and efficiency, but trust in financial services remains built through human oversight.
AI also influences how financial services are experienced. By understanding patterns and context, platforms simplify journeys and personalise interactions. This reduces friction, making financial tools easier to navigate.
The pace of change is fast. Capabilities that once took years are now adopted far more quickly. Responsible implementation is essential. As AI becomes more deeply embedded, transparency, data privacy, and fairness must remain central.
Over time, AI will move from being a differentiator to a foundational capability. It will strengthen systems while keeping people at the centre.
Key Challenges for the Fintech Industry
As fintech adoption scales across the country, digital systems must be supported by dependable on-ground execution. Usage spreads across towns of all sizes, raising expectations beyond technology to timely human support.
When a merchant in a small town faces an issue like a QR not working, quick resolution becomes part of system design. Fintechs operate at very high transaction volumes where efficiency, reliability, and cost discipline are increasingly important.
Continued investment in technology, security, uptime, and customer support is inherent. This builds services that remain affordable and accessible at scale. Regulation has played a crucial role in fostering trust and stability.
Consistency in regulatory processes helps innovation and compliance move forward together. Technology and AI have significantly strengthened fintech operations, particularly in monitoring and reliability.
As these tools become more embedded, human judgment and accountability continue to play an important role. AI enhances speed and efficiency, while trust is reinforced when users know there is understanding and responsibility on the other side.
Ultimately, the next phase of fintech growth will be shaped not just by access or scale. It depends on how reliably services work on the ground and how confidently people are supported when they need help.
