India is capitalising on its growing fintech ecosystem to become a trusted partner in global finance, with initiatives like tokenisation and digital public infrastructure paving the way for innovative, secure financial services.
India has an opportunity to become a trusted partner in shaping the next phase of global finance, Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Thursday, framing the country’s digital payments push as more than a domestic success story. Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai, Malhotra said trust would remain the defining requirement for financial systems, and argued that fintech firms should treat data as a fiduciary responsibility rather than a commercial asset.
He said the RBI, together with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, would launch tokenisation of corporate bonds later in the day. Tokenisation refers to turning an asset into digital units that can be traded or settled more efficiently on blockchain-based systems. Malhotra also said the central bank is building digital public infrastructure for next-generation financial services, pointing to the Unified Lending Interface as one example of that work.
The governor’s comments come as India’s fintech sector continues to rank among the world’s most active and best funded. Tracxn’s annual reports have placed India third globally in fintech funding, behind the US and the UK, despite a sharp slowdown from earlier peaks. Industry reports also show the country remains home to dozens of fintech unicorns and has continued to produce new large-scale digital finance companies even as late-stage funding has cooled.
Malhotra also announced that the RBI had approved the United Fintech Forum as the second self-regulatory organisation for the financial sector, alongside the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment. The move points to a more structured oversight model for a fast-growing industry that now spans payments, lending, wealth technology and digital assets. Separate market reports have also ranked India third globally for the number of active fintech companies and highlighted the country’s growing share of global fintech innovation.
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