Fintechs conquered payments in India. Now they're eyeing credit

Participants during the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. Policymakers, bankers, technology companies and fintech founders have gathered at the annual Global Fintech Fest to debate what comes after the Unified Payments Interface, which unleashed a digital-payments revolution.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFintech companies, the driving force behind the adoption of digital payments in India, are turning their attention to the underserved credit market of the world's fastest-growing major economy.Because of the low cost and last-mile connectivity fintechs offer, credit is seen as an appealing area for them to pursue, Industry leaders at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai told CNBC. A credit-product rollout through the Unified Payments Interface will be the next big wave of digital transformation, they added. The credit market offers opportunities that are more than "double" the size of the payment market in the country, Sameer Nigam, founder and chief executive of Walmart-owned PhonePe, told CNBC. In the financial year that ended in March, UPI transactions touched 314 trillion rupees ($3.2 trillion), with PhonePe and Google Pay accounting for ...