Abstract
The advent of COVID modified the way businesses are being conducted. Though even before COVID arrived, the Indian economy was battling with economic jolts which were triggered by major banking frauds which perturbed the financial system in the country. A weakened investor sentiment was furthered deepened when the countrywide lockdown gave a final shock to the economy. Fortunately as the ‘new normal’ stabilizes, businesses are becoming innovative and new ways to run businesses are being created. A major change has been noticed in the financial sector where FINTECH companies were already active from the past few years but the pandemic provided impetus to their growth. Be it payments, lending, accounts and savings trade and investment, insurance, technology or support, fintech registered a boost in all these sectors. For instance as cashless economy became a necessity rather than an option, e-wallets saw a surge in their usage like never before. The market size grew and customer trust enhanced. On the flip side, like any other developing sector, fintech has its share of problems for companies ranging from trust, reliability, vulnerability to frauds and ‘struggle for existence and survival of the fittest’. This paper tries to analyse how fintech proved to be a savior for the country’s financial system offering growth amidst the sluggish economy during the COVID era. It also tries to reason out why the sector has strong prospects despite the challenges which it is currently facing.
Presenters
Kirti SharmaAssistant Professor, Finance, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Haryana, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2021 Special Focus: Considering Viral Technologies: Pandemic-Driven Opportunities and Challenges
KEYWORDS
FINTECH; ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE; FINANCIAL SECTOR; COVID
