Time: 13:00-15:00 (UK Time), Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Presenter: Dr. Priyadarshi Dash, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India
Chair: Prof. Victor Murinde, SOAS University of London
Online venue: Click here to join the seminar on Microsoft Teams (For any inquiry about how to join the online seminar, please contact Dr. Meng Xie at xm1@soas.ac.uk)

Abstract
The rapid growth of Fintech worldwide, in sync with the new vintage of industrial revolution enabled by advanced digital technologies such as big data, blockchain, 3D printing, and robotics, has brought cheers to the financial services industry. Low fixed costs, user-friendly transaction platforms, budding digital-savvy entrepreneurs and the rise in average financial literacy levels have contributed to the surge in Fintech products and services. Traditional financial institutions (e.g. banks, non-banking financial institutions) are increasingly adopting Fintech solutions within their business models hinting towards more complementary financial systems than competitive ones. However, Fintech start-up are not deposit taking institutions even though customized investment products like mutual funds and SIPs are being offered by them. As it appears a very strong consumer preference explains the rapid growth of the Fintech sector, most importantly in the emerging markets and developing countries than a conscious decision of the governments, in a relative sense. It entails that the Fintech industry is growing without much of regulatory preparedness by the countries. The most compelling question is whether the existing regulatory system needs complete overhaul, or function-specific regulatory reforms could help meet the new regulatory challenges arising from adoption of Fintech in financial and other services sectors. This paper is an attempt to critically examine the literature on the subject, and to provide useful insights about the emerging regulatory perspectives and approaches. While doing so, the emphasis rests on ensuring regulatory efficiency rather than building costly over-stretched regulatory architecture.

Presenter

Dr. Priyadarshi Dash is Associate Professor at Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), an independent policy research institution under the Ministry of External Affairs, India. He has 15 years of experience in policy research on trade, investment, infrastructure and Fintech issues in the context of G20, IORA, BIMSTEC and Indo-Pacific. He was a Co-Chair of Task Force-5 of Think20 during Indian Presidency of G20. Dr. Dash has published two books titled ‘Asia-Africa Growth Corridor: Development and Cooperation in Indo-Pacific’ and ‘Universal Banking in India: Evolution, Trends and Performance’ and several papers in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. He is member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Cambridge Scholars Publishing, London and Advances in Economics and Business; Member of Editorial Review Board of Virtual Economics; Managing Editor of G20 Digest, and Co-Editor of Journal of Asian Economic Integration. Dr. Dash holds M.Phil (Planning & Development) and PhD in Economics from IIT Bombay. He is a partner and co-investigator on the research project on “UK-India Bilateral Trade in FinTech and FinTech-Enabled Services: Emerging trends and potential for growth”, which if funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR); involving a partnership of the Centre for Global Finance at SOAS University of London (Professor Victor Murinde), University of Essex (Professor Thankom Arun, the PI, and Professor Sheri Markose), the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi (Professor Sachin Chaturvedi and Dr. Priyadarshi Das), UCLAN (Dr. Philip Kostov), Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation, Thiruvananthapuram (Professor K. J. Joseph), and the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi (Dr. Reji Joseph).