Fintech lenders will have to change their business models to survive the ongoing liquidity crisis.
AMIT KUMAR, Co-founder, GalaxyCard, a digital credit card start-up, had just gone live with a non-banking finance company (NBFC) when the IL&FS default crisis erupted in September 2018. The NBFC, which had started discussions with GalaxyCard in January 2018, had big plans but changed its mind. “Nine months of integration, legal paper work and banking transactions went for a toss in just 10 days,” says Kumar. Many NBFCs that had tied up with fintech firms or were in the process of doing so are not even willing to talk, says Kumar. As a result, a lot of fintech lenders are finding it difficult to raise funds. Some are even closing down.
The liquidity crunch has put a spanner in the works for such firms despite the fact that the potential market of millennials and salaried professionals remains. Akshay Mehrotra, Co-founder and CEO, EarlySalary, sees a huge untapped market in consumers with credit scores of less than 750 and loan size below Ì€ 1 lakh for less than one year tenure. “The salaried individual segment is a 4.5 lakh crore opportunity (by 2023/24) based on 201 million individuals,” he says.
India is the second-biggest fintech hub in the world, after the US, with 2,035 start-ups in the sector against just 737 in 2014, according to the India Fintech Report 2019 by Medici.
However, fast paced growth in a short span doesn’t guarantee sustainability. China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) lending segment flourished in the past four-five years but witnessed multiple defaults from June 2018 after it surfaced that a few P2P operators had duped investors. Thousands of platforms disappeared over two years.
In India, regulations are trying to put things right.
Road to Regulations
この記事は Business Today の June 30, 2019 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は Business Today の June 30, 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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A Man of Multitudes
IN A NEW BOOK, CAPTAINS OF INDIA INC. AND OTHERS PAY TRIBUTE TO RAHUL BAJAJ, THE TITAN OF INDIAN INDUSTRY
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN
WITH THE GOVERNMENT OFFERING SUBSIDIES UNDER THE PM SURYA GHAR MUFT BIJLI YOJANA, MANY HOUSEHOLDS HAVE TAKEN A SHINE TO SOLAR ROOFTOP PANELS. BUT HOW MUCH DO THEY COST?
FROM GREY TO GREEN
WITH THE CLIMATE CRISIS BECOMING MORE ACUTE, GREEN HYDROGEN COULD BE AN IMPORTANT SOLUTION
ECO CHAMBER
DATA CENTRES ARE A VERY VITAL PART OF THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THAT IS UNDERWAY, BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM: THEY CONSUME TOO MUCH ENERGY. AS DEMAND FOR SUCH CENTRES INCREASES IN INDIA, IT HAS NO OPTION BUT TO EMBRACE GREEN SOLUTIONS
THE GREEN BARRIER
THE EU'S CARBON BORDER ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM COULD MAKE INDIAN EXPORTS UNCOMPETITIVE, UNLESS EFFORTS TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS ARE ACCELERATED
HUMANISING SUSTAINABILITY
THERE IS A NEED TO MOVE BEYOND INDIVIDUAL WELL-BEING AND FOSTER A SENSE OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS AND SOLIDARITY
DE-RISKING THE BOOKS
INDIAN BANKS ARE BEGINNING TO TAKE BABY STEPS TOWARDS ADDRESSING CLIMATE-RELATED FINANCIAL RISKS IN THEIR BOOKS. BUT THEY MUST PUT THEIR FOOT ON THE PEDAL AND ENHANCE PREPAREDNESS
PAYING FOR CHANGE
WITH EXTREME WEATHER INCREASINGLY PUTTING THE COUNTRY AND ITS ECONOMY AT RISK, INDIA SHOULD EXPLORE CLIMATE FINANCE PATHWAYS TO FUND ITS NET-ZERO JOURNEY TOWARDS A GREENER FUTURE
BEYOND THE BLIP
ESG HAS BEEN UNDER SCRUTINY GLOBALLY AMID ALLEGATIONS OF GREENWASHING AND RECORD REDEMPTIONS FROM ESG FUNDS. BUT THAT MAY JUST BE ONE SIDE OF THE STORY, SINCE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES HAVE BECOME CORE COMPONENTS OF COMPANIES' STRATEGIES
PROFITING FROM ESG
INITIALLY DRIVEN BY REGULATORY COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS, BUSINESSES ARE INCREASINGLY VIEWING ESG AS A TOOL TO ENHANCE PROFITABILITY. BUT THERE IS STILL A LONG WAY TO GO
