As the curtains fell on the 6th edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025 in Mumbai, the financial world paused to reflect on a gathering that transcended mere networking and deal-making. Held at the Jio World Centre from October 7-9, 2025, this year’s theme – “Empowering Finance for a Better World Powered by AI” – set the stage for a profound dialogue on technology’s role in reshaping global finance.
With over 7,500 participants from 400 exhibitors, including fintech unicorns, regulators, and policymakers, the event underscored Mumbai’s emergence as a global fintech nerve center. It was the world’s largest fintech festival.
But, what elevated GFF 2025 to historic proportions was the rare confluence of world leaders: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Their addresses, delivered amid a backdrop of pulsating innovation hubs and AI-driven demos, painted a roadmap for fintech’s future—one rooted in inclusion, responsibility, and cross-border collaboration.
At Fintrade Securities Corporation Ltd (FSCL), a global financial and investment advisory services firm with deep roots in India’s capital markets and a growing footprint in fintech advisory, we view GFF 2025 not just as an event, but as a pivotal inflection point.
India’s fintech ecosystem, already the world’s third-largest by funding, stands at the cusp of exponential growth. The speeches by these leaders reinforced our conviction: strategic partnerships, ethical AI deployment, and regulatory foresight will be the trifecta driving sustainable value. As stewards of client portfolios navigating volatile markets, we see GFF 2025 as a clarion call for calibrated optimism in an era where fintech isn’t just disruptive—it’s democratizing.
FM NIRMALA SITHARAMAN'S INAUGURAL CALL: TECHNOLOGY AS A PUBLIC GOOD, NOT A WEAPON
The fest kicked off on October 7 with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s keynote, a masterclass in balancing exuberance with caution. As the architect of India’s post-pandemic fiscal resurgence, Sitharaman’s address was both celebratory and sobering, framing fintech as a tool for empowerment while flagging its perils.
She inaugurated the event by launching a forex currency settlement system, signalling the government’s commitment to seamless cross-border flows—a move that could slash transaction costs by up to 20% for exporters, per our internal modelling.
Sitharaman’s core thesis was unequivocal: technology must serve humanity, not subvert it. “Fintech in India has not merely digitised payments but has also democratised finance, empowering millions to save, invest, borrow and insure with transparency,” she declared, crediting the JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) for this leap.
This isn’t hyperbole; UPI’s 20 billion monthly transactions (valued at ₹25 lakh crore) exemplify how public infrastructure has birthed a private innovation boom. From our vantage at Fintrade Securities, this resonates deeply—our advisory arm has seen MSME clients triple their digital lending access via platforms like ONDC, reducing credit gaps from 40% to under 15% in key sectors.
Yet, Sitharaman didn’t shy from the shadows. Drawing from personal anecdotes, she warned of AI’s “weaponisation” for fraud, citing deepfakes and cybersecurity breaches as existential threats. “We have constantly seen instances of inward-looking attitudes along with technology advancements… And at no point of time it gets weaponised,” she cautioned, urging a “whole-of-society approach” involving regulators, startups, and citizens.
This plea against “weaponising” tech—amid global tensions over export controls on semiconductors—strikes at the heart of fintech’s vulnerability. In 2025 alone, AI-driven scams have surged 300% in India, per RBI data, eroding trust in digital rails. Sitharaman’s vision? A resilient ecosystem where “every part of the ecosystem—regulators, fintechs, startups, and citizens—must act with shared purpose and mutual trust.”
Her four directives to the fintech fraternity were pragmatic gold: First, “focus on fundamentals” like financial inclusion for gig workers and women-led enterprises; second, “grow with responsibility” by prioritizing compliance over velocity; third, innovate sustainably, especially in green finance to aid India’s net-zero goals; and fourth, treat regulations as enablers, not hurdles.
“As many of the fintechs mature, they may be champions of meeting heightened expectations around financial performance and regulatory compliance while continuing to innovate,” she advised.
For Fintrade Securities, this is actionable intelligence. Our green bond desk anticipates a 25% uptick in sustainable fintech issuances by 2026, fuelled by such policy nudges. Sitharaman’s address, clocking in at a crisp 20 minutes, wasn’t just inaugural—it was a blueprint for ethical scaling, reminding us that unchecked innovation risks repeating the 2022 FTX implosion on a subcontinental scale.
DAY 2 MOMENTUM: COMMERCE MINISTER PIYUSH GOYAL'S AUDACIOUS CALL TO CONQUER GLOBAL MARKETS
Building on Sitharaman’s foundational tone, Day 2 (October 8) featured Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s electrifying session on “India’s Digital Promise: Building Trust, Trade and Technology for All.” Goyal, a vocal proponent of export-led growth, transformed the discourse from domestic resilience to global ambition, positioning fintech as India’s export spearhead.
His 30-minute address, laced with macroeconomic data and forward-looking optimism, resonated with the 5,000-strong audience, many of whom were eyeing international expansions.
Goyal’s narrative arc was triumphant: India, once a “mere participant” in global trade, is now a “principal architect” of fintech innovation. “The way forward holds huge promise for India. Let’s go and capture the world markets; let’s become the centre of technology,” he exhorted, crediting Prime Minister Modi’s vision for this ascent.
This is not mere rhetoric. Union Minister Piyush Goyal cited World Trade Organization (WTO) data highlighting that India’s aggregate exports have continued to grow at an impressive 4 to 5 percent rate, despite a backdrop of global economic headwinds, trade slowdowns, and geopolitical uncertainties.
He emphasized that the country’s resilience is underpinned not only by traditional manufacturing and services but increasingly by digital financial infrastructure, particularly the Unified Payments Interface.
UPI, which began as a domestic instant payment rail, has now extended its global footprint, operating in nine countries, with a recent launch in Doha signalling India’s strategic push to internationalize its digital payments architecture.
At Fintrade Securities, we have closely modelled the potential impact of UPI’s cross-border adoption. Our projections indicate that UPI-enabled international remittances could reach $100 billion annually by 2028, providing a substantial boost to India’s balance of payments and creating new opportunities for diaspora-driven capital flows.
This growth has meaningful implications for our cross-border advisory clients, who can leverage real-time settlement, lower transaction costs, and enhanced interoperability to streamline treasury operations, facilitate merchant payments, and optimize foreign exchange exposures.
UPI’s expansion also reinforces India’s broader fintech narrative, demonstrating how digital rails can translate into tangible economic outcomes, support trade integration, and reinforce India’s position as a global financial hub.
Goyal’s closing flourish was unyielding: “No power on earth can stop India from becoming a developed and prosperous nation by 2047,” he declared, envisioning a $30-35 trillion economy where “trust is India’s strongest currency in the global fintech era.” Echoing this, he praised indigenous 4G/5G and DPI as global exports: “India leads global initiatives with its digital public infrastructure… delivering connectivity even on highways where some advanced economies still struggle.”
Energy and infrastructure took center stage, with Goyal touting India’s renewable edge as a fintech enabler. “24-hour renewable energy is available at under 9 cents a kilowatt for data centres and for artificial intelligence applications,” he highlighted, linking clean power to AI’s scalability.
This dovetails with Mumbai’s infra surge—the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link and metro expansions, which Goyal promised would ensure “every citizen of Mumbai can commute from home to work in less than one hour.”
For investors, this signals a 15% CAGR in data center REITs, as affordable green energy de-risks AI compute costs.
From Fintrade Securities’ lens, Goyal’s blueprint validates overweighting telco-fintech hybrids like Jio Financials, projecting 20% EPS growth on export synergies.
REGULATORY ANCHOR: RBI GOVERNOR'S FIVE PILLARS FOR SUSTAINABLE FINTECH GROWTH
Complementing Goyal’s expansive vision on the same day, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra delivered a measured yet motivational address, outlining a “roadmap for the next phase of digital finance” built on trust and scalability. As the steward of India’s monetary stability, Malhotra’s remarks—framed around five key thoughts—served as a regulatory North Star, urging the nearly 10,000 fintech entities to innovate responsibly amid rapid digitization.
Malhotra opened with a nod to UPI’s maturity: “Now it takes a few minutes to do something which used to take months, like filing returns, thanks to the availability of data,” he noted, spotlighting enablers like DigiLocker and GST’s IT backbone. This efficiency has propelled UPI to half of global real-time payments, a stat that underscores RBI’s sandbox fostering 300+ innovations since 2020.
Yet, Malhotra pivoted to perils: the “rapid expansion of digital finance has created new challenges such as digital frauds and cyber threats,” where AI must counter with “real-time fraud detection and prevention.”
His five pillars were a fintech manifesto: First, “build for inclusion”—prioritize the “in-accessed and unreached” via intuitive products for low-literacy users. Second, adopt a “customer-first approach,” channeling Steve Jobs: “Get closer than ever to your customers.” Third, innovate boldly, extending UPI’s success to SMEs with tools like the proposed Unified Lending Interface (ULI) for alternative credit models. Fourth, “prioritise trust” through compliance and data safeguards: “Compliance, data protection, transparency, and robust safeguards should be at the core of product design.” Fifth, “think global, anchored local”—exchange knowledge internationally while rooting in India’s DPI.
AI loomed large: “Artificial intelligence holds the potential to fundamentally enhance the next generation of DPI,” Malhotra affirmed, aligning with ethical guardrails. For Fintrade Securities, this is prescient—our risk models forecast a 30% drop in fraud losses via AI-ULI integration, unlocking $200 billion in SME lending by 2027. Malhotra’s call to “design products and services that are easy to use, accessible for all” isn’t advisory; it’s imperative for scaling without exclusion.
DAY 3 STATE SPOTLIGHT: MAHARASHTRA CM DEVENDRA FADNAVIS'S TRILLION-DOLLAR ECOSYSTEM PUSH
Transitioning to Day 3 (October 9), Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis grounded the national narrative in subnational dynamism, addressing a session on state-level fintech adoption and MSME financing. As the helmsman of India’s economic powerhouse—contributing 15% to GDP—Fadnavis’s 20-minute speech blended infrastructure wins with tech ambition, reinforcing Mumbai’s fintech primacy.
Fadnavis’s mantra was executional: “Clear vision, swift decisions, and strong execution are three important pillars of Maharashtra’s development,” he stated, linking this to mega-projects like the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link.
He unveiled an audacious goal: “Our goal is to make Maharashtra a trillion-dollar economy by 2030,” a leap from its current $500 billion base, powered by fintech and innovation hubs. This aligns with reverse migration trends, where startups now flock to Mumbai over Bengaluru, cementing its status as “de facto fintech capital and data capital.”
A highlight was the “Innovation City,” where “world-class research and technology-based industries will be encouraged,” with Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran blueprinting the project.
For MSMEs, Fadnavis touted ONDC’s role in national market access, projecting 20% credit uplift via state fintech corridors. At Fintrade Securities, headquartered in this ecosystem, we see alpha: Maharashtra’s $1T vision could double GIFT City-like inflows, favoring local listings with 18% IRR potential.
PM MODI'S BLUEPRINT: DEMOCRATIZING TECH FOR AN 'ALL INCLUSIVE' AI ERA
If Sitharaman set the tone with restraint and Goyal-Malhotra-Fadnavis amplified the momentum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s October 9 address ignited the room with unbridled optimism. Returning as promised from last year’s event (pre-2024 elections, when skeptics abounded), Modi hailed Mumbai as “the city of energy… of enterprise… of endless possibilities.” His 25-minute speech, delivered in Hindi and translated live, wove personal anecdotes with policy milestones, positioning India as fintech’s moral compass.
Central to Modi’s narrative was the “democratisation of technology.” “India has also made this democratic spirit a strong pillar of governance,” he asserted, spotlighting how the past decade flipped the “technological divide” script.
Echoing Sitharaman, he lauded the JAM Trinity and UPI: “Today, 50 out of every 100 real-time digital transactions in the world take place in India alone.”
At Fintrade Securities, we’ve crunched the numbers—UPI’s interoperability has boosted our clients’ remittance volumes by 40% year-on-year, underscoring Modi’s point that tech isn’t privilege but “a means of equality.”
Modi’s paean to the “India Stack”—UPI, Aadhaar, DigiLocker, GeM, and now ONDC and OCEN—was a love letter to open ecosystems. “ONDC… is proving to be a boon for small shopkeepers and MSMEs. They are now able to access markets across the country,” he noted, projecting it as a salve for credit-starved entrepreneurs.
This aligns with our market outlook: OCEN could unlock $500 billion in MSME credit by 2030, per McKinsey estimates we’ve vetted. But Modi’s real coup was redefining AI. In a world fixated on AGI risks, he flipped the acronym: “To us, AI means – All Inclusive.”
Under the IndiaAI Mission, he’s earmarking computing power for every district, indigenous models for local languages, and ethical frameworks drawing from DPI learnings—synergizing seamlessly with Malhotra’s AI fraud defenses and Goyal’s green compute push.
From an investment lens, Modi’s UK pivot was electric. Thanking Starmer for his presence, he envisioned a “Fintech Corridor” linking London and GIFT City, amplified by the nascent FTA. “The combination of UK’s research and global finance expertise and India’s scale and talent can open new doors of opportunity for the entire world.”
As Fintrade Securities’ cross-border desk ramps up, we foresee 15-20% inflows into GIFT City listings from UK pension funds.
Modi’s closing salvo—”We must create a Fintech World where technology enriches both people and the planet”—isn’t rhetoric; it’s our North Star for ESG-integrated portfolios, amplified by Fadnavis’s state-level execution.
UK PM KEIR STARMER'S OVERTURE: FORGING A TRANSATLANTIC FINTECH BRIDGE
Keir Starmer’s address, sandwiched between Modi’s and a bustling expo tour, infused GFF with transatlantic flair. The Labour leader, on his first official India visit, opened with a crowd-pleasing Hindi flourish: “Namaskar Mumbai, mujhe yaha aakar bahot khushi hui” (Greetings Mumbai, I’m delighted to be here), a gesture that went viral on X, amassing 500,000 views in hours. This wasn’t performative; it underscored his thesis: the UK-India duo as fintech’s “bridge redefined with a new level of ambition for a new era.”
Starmer’s pitch was unapologetically commercial. “The United Kingdom wants to be India’s number one partner of choice for finance and FinTech,” he proclaimed, touting investments in digital infra, AI acceleration, and a new “Office for Investment and Financial Services” as a “concierge” for inflows.
Citing expansions by Barclays, Wise, and HSBC—”HSBC has launched an innovation bank hub and is expanding into 20 new cities”—he highlighted mutual deepening: British firms in GIFT City, Indian unicorns like Razorpay eyeing London. This echoes Goyal’s trade conquest and Fadnavis’s innovation hubs, potentially channeling UK capital into Maharashtra’s trillion-dollar pipeline.
The FTA stole the show. “It’s the biggest deal that the UK has done since we left the European Union, and I think it’s fair to say, the most ambitious trade deal India has ever done,” Starmer beamed, crediting joint resolve for a pact that “calls out the promise of incredible opportunities.”
Signed in July 2025 after marathon talks, this CETA-lite slashes tariffs on 90% of goods, potentially adding $30 billion to bilateral trade by 2028. Starmer’s delegation—the largest UK business cohort to India in a decade—signalled intent: “We had to swap to a bigger plane when we knew the numbers coming with us. It shows that when it comes to India… we really do mean business.”
Analytically, Starmer’s remarks dovetail with Fintrade Securities’ thesis on “regulatory arbitrage lite.” The UK’s fast-track visas and compliance streams could lure 10-15% more Indian talent westward, while easing capital repatriation—complementing Malhotra’s global-local anchor.
Yet, his nod to “seize the opportunities, and keep raising our ambitions even further” hints at Phase 2: AI co-development pacts, perhaps mirroring the 2024 AI Safety Summit’s India leg. For us, this bilateral thrust mitigates US-China decoupling risks, positioning Indo-UK fintech as a neutral powerhouse.
AI ETHICS, INCLUSION, AND GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS
Across the quintet’s speeches, three threads emerged, binding rhetoric to reality—now enriched by Goyal’s ambition, Malhotra’s pillars, and Fadnavis’s execution.
First, AI’s double-edged sword. Sitharaman’s deepfake alarms complemented Modi’s “All Inclusive” ethos, Starmer’s adoption push, Malhotra’s fraud-detection imperative, and Goyal’s green AI enabler. Collectively, they advocate “responsible deployment”—India’s DPI as a trust layer, UK’s safety summits as guardrails.
At Fintrade Securities, we’re modeling AI’s fintech ROI at 3x by 2027, but only if privacy regs like DPDP 2.0 evolve swiftly, as Malhotra urges.
Second, inclusion as imperative. From Sitharaman’s gig worker focus to Modi’s district-level AI, Starmer’s MSME enablers, Goyal’s underserved exports, Malhotra’s “build for inclusion,” and Fadnavis’s MSME corridors, the emphasis is on last-mile equity.
UPI’s 50% global share isn’t accident; it’s policy alchemy. Our data shows women-led fintechs growing 35% YoY, a tide lifting diverse portfolios.
Third, globalism via public goods. Modi’s MOSIP (adopted by 25 nations), Starmer’s corridor, Goyal’s market conquest, Malhotra’s ULI global exchange, and Fadnavis’s Innovation City echo Sitharaman’s anti-weaponisation plea.
This “digital empowerment” sans aid stigma could spawn $1 trillion in South-South flows, per our projections—fuelled by “big aspirations” that “define India.”
These synergies aren’t serendipitous; they’re strategic, countering protectionism with open architectures, from state to bilateral scales.
INVESTOR PLAYBOOK FROM GFF 2025
As market mavens, Fintrade Securities deciphers GFF’s alpha signals. Short-term: UPI 3.0 pilots could spike payment stocks 15-20%; GIFT City’s inflows may buoy realty-REITs, amplified by Fadnavis’s infra web. Mid-term: AI skilling hubs under IndiaAI Mission favor edtech-fintech hybrids like upGrad-Paytm tie-ups, with Malhotra’s ULI catalyzing lending plays. Long-term: The FTA corridor heralds cross-listed ADRs, diversifying beyond Nasdaq, while Goyal’s renewable push greens data portfolios.
Risks? Regulatory whiplash from Malhotra’s trust pillars and Sitharaman’s compliance call could cap rogue unicorns, but that’s net positive—fostering blue-chips. Geopolitically, Indo-UK alignment hedges US election volatilities.
Our recommendation: Overweight DPI enablers (e.g., Infosys, TCS) at 12% portfolio allocation; initiate green fintech ETFs at 8%; add 5% to MSME-focused Maharashtra funds.
TOWARD A FINTECH RENAISSANCE
The Global Fintech Fest 2025 wasn’t a symposium; it was a covenant. Sitharaman’s guarded optimism, Goyal’s conquest zeal, Malhotra’s trust pillars, Fadnavis’s execution drive, Modi’s inclusive fervor, and Starmer’s partnership overture converge on a vision where AI empowers, not ensnares; where borders blur for bytes, not barriers.
From Fintrade Securities’ perch, this sextet heralds a $500 billion Indian fintech valuation by 2030, with bilateral deals accelerating 20% CAGR—and Maharashtra hitting $1T ahead of curve.
As Modi aptly concluded, “Where finance isn’t just about the numbers, but also about human progress.” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted India’s balanced approach to innovation and regulation, emphasizing financial inclusion and responsible fintech growth.
Piyush Goyal spoke of India’s “huge promise” for trade and commerce, while Devendra Fadnavis underscored the transformative potential of state-backed infrastructure in enabling inclusive growth, and the UK Prime Minister acknowledged the opportunity for a “Fintech Corridor” linking London and GIFT City.
Together, these interventions were not merely speeches—they were declarations of India’s vision for a fintech era that is both inclusive and globally influential.
They positioned India not only as a domestic leader in digital finance, UPI, ONDC, and AI-driven innovation, but also as a blueprint for the world. Investors, policymakers, and innovators from across continents recognized that GFF 2025 was more than a festival—it was a global signal: India is scripting a humane, intelligent, and scalable financial ecosystem whose impact will resonate far beyond its borders, shaping the future of digital finance worldwide.