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Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has directed Indian fintech startups to strengthen cybersecurity and consumer protection as the sector moves into its next phase of growth driven by agentic AI and quantum technologies. Addressing the inauguration of Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 in Mumbai today (September 8), PM Modi called for building stronger safeguards around India's rapidly expanding digital financial services and fintech sector. Modi added that the rapid adoption of new technologies must be matched by stronger security and trust mechanisms. He highlighted the need to build “top-notch cybersecurity” protocols as financial services become increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure and AI. He also stressed the need for ethical data-protection practices to ensure consumer trust in this age of AI. "Agentic AI, tokenisation, quantum, such technologies are opening new possibilities in the financial sector ... For this, I want our fintech companies to come together and set some tasks for themselves," he added In this line, the government recently formed an inter-ministerial group to develop a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy for India’s financial sector. Earlier this year, concerns emerged around Anthropic’s Mythos, an AI system capable of autonomously identifying high-severity software vulnerabilities, prompting policymakers and financial institutions to reassess the cybersecurity implications of frontier AI models. Addressing the forum, the PM outlined four broad priorities for the sector, viz stronger cybersecurity, ethical data protection, better consumer protection and closer collaboration between industry and regulators. Noting that the initial phase of India's fintech boom was largely defined by payments and digital infrastructure, he called for more fintech innovations in financial products and automated decision-making. He also underscored the need for building new products around data, fraud, cybersecurity and consumer safeguards. PM Modi also directed fintech companies to “move beyond payments”, with the next opportunity lying in areas such as credit, insurance and pensions. He also urged fintech platforms to take financial services to sections of the population that have historically had limited access to formal banking. PM Bats For UPI’s Global Expansion The PM said the next phase of UPI's growth should focus on connecting the Indian payment system with payment ecosystems of other countries. “Our next goal should be to connect it with the payment systems of those countries,” PM Modi said. As of September 2026, the homegrown payments infrastructure is live in 11 countries. Citing the India-Singapore linkage as an example, the PM said that cross-border transactions between the two countries have become almost as easy as transactions between two Indian cities. The PM also underlined that India should prioritise countries with large Indian diasporas and strong trade ties for UPI’s global expansion. “Indians are the ones who send the maximum money from abroad in the world but today, a part of the remittances goes away as transaction costs. UPI can help Indians save on these costs and the money can also reach Indian families faster,” he added. Launched in 2016 under the aegis of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI has grown from 1.78 Cr transactions in FY17 to more than 24,162 Cr transactions in FY26, an almost 13,000X increase. As per government data, transaction value has risen from ₹7,000 Cr to around ₹314 Lakh Cr over the same period. The growth accelerated further in 2026. UPI processed a record 2,451 Cr monthly transactions worth ₹29.82 Lakh Cr in August. At the heart of all this is the thriving Indian fintech economy, which is projected to cross $250 Bn in revenue by 2030. The seventh edition of the four-day fest will provide a stage to Indian fintech companies for global dialogue, collaboration and innovation in financial technology. The theme of this year's GFF is “Potential to Impact: Agentic AI, Tokenisation, Quantum - Trusted, Connected, Global Systems for Inclusive Finance.”
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