Rise Of Fintech Superapps Shaping Digital Finance In India 2025
MAR 26, 2025
Do you think that cashless transactions are still a luxury? Not in India. With a breathtaking fintech adoption rate of 87% compared to the global average of 64%, India is swiftly surpassing other countries and has become the 3rd largest fintech market in the world!
Quick and secure cashless transactions happen daily in India; even your local vegetable vendors embrace them and prefer UPI over cash! But how did India get to this stage so rapidly? You will find out soon.
Let’s rewind India’s fintech journey from the days of demonetization to the era of COVID-19 and the role of the Indian government as a support system for the growth of the Indian fintech industry.
Exponential growth of the Indian fintech industry
Before 2016, India’s economy was dominated by cash payments. However, the demonetization of 500 and 1000 rupee notes in 2016 brought some new players into the market, looking to capitalize on digital payment technology and cashless transactions. Since the Indian economy was no longer dependent on cash, citizens were compelled to use digital payment mobile apps for transactions. These digital wallet apps provide safer and quicker ways to exchange money.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) introduced the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to provide users with a trouble-free mode of payment. With the government's and RBI's help, NPCI developed this interoperable and safe payment system. UPI payment gateway integration in fintech apps helped India reach the top of the global real-time payment industry, surpassing South Korea and China in this race. As per NPCI, more than 22 billion transactions worth over USD 556 billion were recorded during the post-COVID era back in 2021.
Looking at the exponential growth of the Indian fintech industry, these nations started shifting toward UPI for digital payments:
- Saudi Arabia
- France
- Singapore
- UAE
- Oman
- Nepal
- Malaysia
- Netherlands
To this date, many other countries have followed the UPI payment gateway integration in fintech apps. The introduction of UPI entirely changed the country’s fintech scene. Its speed caught the attention of people worldwide, including Volker Wissing, Germany’s Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, who was fascinated by its ease of payment while buying items from a local vegetable seller. He shared his positive impression of how swiftly the transaction could be processed with UPI. The German embassy praised India’s digital infrastructure and acknowledged UPI as one of its most successful breakthroughs in fintech.
Best financial technology developments in India
1) KYC for Customer identity verification
KYC verification features in fintech apps aren’t just a box to check. They're a door that every customer has to get through. This protocol is used to verify the legitimacy of customers during customer onboarding by validating their documents like passports, driver’s licenses, or Aadhar cards. It's a lengthy procedure, but it can still help manage risks and protect Indian fintech companies from financial fraud. KYC integrations also reduce operational costs by using third-party identity verification providers.
Insight: Through automation and third-party integration, KYC verification features in FinTech apps can improve customer onboarding and reduce operational costs.
2) Neobank development for digital banking
Banking is possible without a branch now in this modern age! Neobanks, as the name suggests, are new-age banks that are digital banking platforms offering services in digital format through a banking interface. Since they don’t have a physical location, the owners can save their rent money, which can be used to provide more interest rates to users. These banks also do not require users to visit them since all the transactions can be performed through mobile phones.
Insight: Fintech companies can cut costs by eliminating physical branches. Neobank development for digital banking is ideal for modern users who prefer mobility and convenience.
3) DeFi app development for transparent financial services
It’s time to say goodbye to middlemen, thanks to DeFi! Decentralized Finance (DeFi) behaves like a transparent and accessible open financial system. It is a concept created on blockchain technology that doesn’t involve the interference of centralized banks while making financial transactions. Users can earn full interest returns by lending their savings. Defi app development for transparent financial services is one of the best financial technology developments in India, providing user-friendly banking, mortgage, and loan features.
Insight: DeFi’s decentralized structure removes intermediaries, offering transparency and security. Fintech companies can use DeFi to make financial services more inclusive.
4) Generative AI chatbot for personalized finances
A personalized financial advisor knows you inside out. But generative AI comes into play to tailor this service to your needs. A generative AI chatbot for personalized finances offers financial plans to users to help them manage their budgets and investments. It also helps measure performance, analyse historical data, detect anomalies, and forecast accurate predictions. It can teach itself from each experience, automate customer service, and protect sensitive data from fraud.
Insight: Integrating Gen AI into fintech operations can enhance customer experience through hyper-personalized financial advice, improved fraud detection, and predictive analytics.
5) UPI payments for Smooth customer journey
UPI is a common household name in India. According to a report by PwC, transaction volumes for digital payments in India are rising by 42% year-on-year in FY 2023-24. With UPI payment gateway integration in fintech apps and its convenient transaction process, there is a noticeable reduction in the usage of debit cards for digital payments. Compare UPI with NEFT (national electronic funds transfer) and RTGS (real-time gross settlement). UPI is a relatively well-defined process, as users can make bank transactions in just a few taps, and it doesn’t require them to enter their credit card and bank information.
Insight: UPI’s seamless, secure, and swift payment process has overtaken traditional payment methods and simplified payment flows.
6) Rapid Growth of the insurance technology
Why is insurtech growing so fast in India? The primary reasons behind this progress are the expanding middle class, innovation, and the government’s support for FinTech. In the next 5 years (2024-2028), the insurance premiums will rise by 7.1% in real terms. Among the G20 countries, India will be counted among the most prosperous nations in the insurance sector. Platforms like PolicyBazaar and Digit Insurance are the two best inspirations for insurance mobile app development in Indian insurtech because of their easily affordable and accessible services.
Insight: With the help of insurance mobile app development, you can offer need-based insurance and customizable insurance products, boosting insurance penetration in underserved regions.
7) Development of innovative Micro-saving Platforms
For lower middle-class Indian families with less income, micro-saving platforms offer facilities for saving and borrowing small amounts of money. These platforms provide hassle-free borrowing options, and users don’t have to go through time-consuming paperwork. A sachet financial services platform named Siply has been upscaling its technology to service families with financial crises by offering micro-savings, micro-credit, and micro-investment services. Platforms like Scripbox and Kuvera are wealth management fintech solutions that automate investments.
Insight: Innovative wealth management fintech solutions can make the investment and savings process easier for your customers, increasing financial literacy and widening your consumer base.
8) Integration of E-commerce in banking apps
According to a Morgan Stanley report, India is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets projected to hit $200 billion by 2026. Integration of e-commerce in banking apps will start a new wave of digital payments, making payments and purchases easier for buyers. Razor Pay and Pinelabs are some of the fintech companies in India that have gotten successful results in payments on e-commerce platforms. Now, e-commerce payment solutions allow customers to use their bank accounts while sitting at home.
Insight: Partnerships with e-commerce platforms can open new avenues for developing e-commerce payment solutions. The collaboration would enhance payment technology and ultimately boost the consumer experience.
9) Evolution of Cross-border payment technology
India is a centre for global remittances and receives around USD 80 billion in inbound remittances. UPI and RuPay are expanding magnificently and facilitating fast and secure cross-border transactions for Indians who live abroad. Expanding cross-border payment solutions will make international payments possible and improve financial inclusion. Indian fintech firms like Instarem and Wise have drastically enhanced remittances by offering cheaper alternatives to traditional methods.
Insight: Countries with large populations, like India, can greatly benefit from cross-border payment solutions, which minimize transaction costs and speed up processing times.
10) Cyber threat Management and fraud prevention
Vulnerabilities to cyber threats have surged, and safeguarding financial data against malicious attacks is crucial. However, Indian AI-based fraud management systems like Clari5 (CustomerXPs) combat fraud across several mediums, such as mobile banking, internet banking, and cards. Another platform, Drona Pay, monitors transactions to detect fraud with biometric technology. PayU and Cashfree are considered the pioneers of this technology in the payment industry.
Insight: AI-based fraud management systems can help Fintech prevent financial fraud and build customer trust, especially when a large amount of money is involved.
11) Financial innovation in the agriculture field
More than 150 million people in Indian agriculture contribute to India’s GDP. Yet, Indian farmers have limited access to institutional credit. Projected to rise to $24 billion by 2025, the Indian agritech industry is emerging as a key player in resolving their problems. Samunnati, Jai Kishan, and Unnati are some startups collaborating with FPOs to broaden their lending operations. They also offer microloans and crop insurance to Indian farmers.
Insight: Fintech can contribute to agritech by providing farmers access to affordable credit, insurance, and savings products. This would improve their productivity and income.
12) Hyperlocal payments and offline solutions
Offline payments have made it possible for customers to pay securely without having an internet connection. The PSP takes control of this process through the NPCI and quickly debits the amount from the issuer to the merchant’s bank account in less than a minute. Fintech companies like BharatPe and PhonePay have helped small businesses by providing QR-code-based digital payment solutions. BharatPe alone has over 10 million merchants using its platform across India.
Insight: To reach small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), fintech must focus on hyperlocal and offline solutions, such as QR-code-based digital payment solutions that make payments independent of network connectivity.
13) Rural banking and financial literacy in the masses
In India, rural regions that don't have access to banking services are not covered in financial inclusion due to a lack of financial literacy and infrastructure. To cover this wide gap, Indian fintech companies like FINO Payments Bank and Airtel Bank have expanded their financial services for the rural sector by developing banking solutions for rural areas. Airtel Payment Bank even gives its users a 6% annual interest rate on savings account deposits of over Rs. 1 lakh.
Insight: Creating banking solutions for rural areas and launching financial literacy programs can broaden financial inclusion and accessibility in remote areas.
14) Dynamic regulatory collaboration in fintech
RBI issued the regulatory sandbox in 2019 after noticing the drastic shift in the digitization of banking systems. It allowed fintech companies to test their products in a controlled environment. Many advancements, like QR codes and video KYC, were made during this period. This framework has positioned India as a leader in fintech regulation and has accelerated the deployment of innovative financial solutions while maintaining compliance.
Insight: A dynamic regulatory market that encourages experimentation while ensuring consumer safety can greatly support fintech companies' innovation and creativity.
15) Women-centric financial software services
Bengaluru-based startup Bais is focused on making millennial and Gen Z women financially aware and independent. The app explicitly addresses women’s monetary needs and promotes financial inclusion in a space where men make most of the financial decisions. It offers features like “Knowledge Boosters," which simplifies financial jargon, and an "Advisory" section that provides personalized financial management tools. Basis has crossed 50,000 downloads and targets urban women, including salaried employees, entrepreneurs, and college graduates.
Insight: Developing gender-specific financial solutions and literacy programs can increase women’s participation in formal financial systems and support gender equality in financial inclusion.
16) Scalability of cloud-based fintech solutions
To keep up with the growing complexity and demands, Razorpay launched UPI 360. It is a cloud-based, innovative UPI infrastructure that minimizes payment failure and solves all the problems banks have due to legacy tech stacks. It serves both online and offline merchants with automated transaction processes. Unsurprisingly, this merchant payment firm generated a revenue of Rs. 2,279 crore in the financial year 2023.
Insight: Cloud-based fintech solutions can provide fintechs the flexibility to scale rapidly, manage costs effectively, and improve service availability across geographies.
17) Financial technology in the education sector
With the education loan market reaching USD 150 billion by 2025, fintech companies are changing how education is accessed and delivered. Peer-to-peer platforms are one example of lending money at low interest rates that connect students needing loans with lenders. Moreover, integrating financial management tools helps students track their spending and manage their finances effectively. Novel Patterns has successfully provided SaaS solutions for efficient loan origination, onboarding, and student disbursement.
Insight: Fintech solutions tailored to education can reduce the financial burden on families and make quality education more accessible, fostering long-term economic growth.
18) Robo-advisory services for wealth management
The demand for cost-effective Robo-advisory fintech solutions for wealth management has largely fueled the growth of robo-advisors. The market is set to grow at an annual rate of 8.06% from 2024 to 2027. Various robo-advisory platforms that can automate investments, create financial plans, and give goal-based advice have emerged. Groww and Kuvera are popular platforms that offer robo-advisory services.
Insight: Robo-advisory fintech solutions for wealth management can promote financial inclusion by offering low-cost, algorithm-driven investment services to first-time investors and those with limited financial literacy.
Various types of financial services in fintech
1) Payment as a Service (PaaS)
Paytech focuses totally on payment and transactions. Before Payment as a Service (PaaS) was introduced, money was generally exchanged between two parties. With the latest regulations like PSD2 and open banking, the market is shifting to a more consumer-centric approach, and the days of fumbling with cash are over. This technology will help establish a resilient and scalable instant payment infrastructure for the growing volume of transactions.
2) InsurTech as a Service (IaaS)
Complicated insurance policies can be overwhelming for any user, as a lot of paperwork is involved. But now, modern technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, IoT, big data analytics, and blockchain are used in InsurTech as a Service (IaaS) to reduce the need for extensive paperwork, strategize investments, assess risks, underwrite policies, and provide personalized insurance products to its users. Brokers and carriers use Insurtech to their advantage to form better connections with policyholders.
3) WealthTech as a Service (WaaS)
Users often stress when managing their portfolios. Due to this, there is a demand for automation and accuracy in WealthTech as a Service (WaaS). It involves automating finance management, like managing investment portfolios and assessing market risks. AI and ML algorithms are now used in wealth tech platforms like robo-advisors to monitor data, set financial goals, and give personalized advice. They smartly provide a more promising investment plan than human financial advisors and give a holistic view of all your funds stored in one place.
4) RegTech as a Service (RaaS)
With compliance getting staggeringly stricter, FinTech software development companies felt the need to cope with new regulatory challenges. For this, regulation technology was introduced, and a group of tech companies provided RegTech as a service (RaaS) to these without rebuilding the existing models. Regulatory monitoring, reporting, and compliance are the main aspects of regulation technology, which monitors online transactions to detect anomalies in real-time and minimize the loss of funds.
5) Cybersecurity companies
In a world filled with cybercriminals, cybersecurity is your safety net! Cybersecurity is a necessity for fintech in India that can never be ignored since encrypted and secure networks are mandatory to safeguard sensitive consumer data and transaction details. Innovations in intrusion detection systems are helping users avoid falling into financial traps and strengthening their trust in fintech companies. With cybersecurity measures, firms can also comply with GDPR, PCI DSS, and FISMA regulations.
6) LendTech firms
Give up the old-school ways of lending since they are outdated and don’t meet needs. LendTech is one of the various types of financial services in fintech that uses APIs for peer-to-peer lending or business loans. It helps people control their cash flow by utilizing authorized digital data to make fast and accurate underwriting decisions. With this technology, small businesses can get funding and become far more independent, able to make their own choices.
7) Banking as a Service (BaaS)
What if you could provide online loans to your customers directly from your website? Wouldn’t that improve the customer journey? You would still need a banking license, which isn’t easy to acquire. This is where the Banking as a Service (BaaS) model comes into play, by which banks can integrate their digital banking services directly into the products of other non-bank businesses. In this case, your organization would act as an intermediary that is not burdened by regulations and compliance.
8) Blockchain and cryptocurrency
Acknowledged by the World Economic Forum as the technology pioneer, blockchain and cryptocurrency are notoriously considered the next best revolution after the internet by several financial experts. This technology is gaining attention, as 56% of companies surveyed by PwC believe blockchain technology is a part of their innovation strategy. Well-established banks like ICICI, Kotak, YES Bank, Axis Bank, and Mahindra Bank are some of the few examples that have incorporated this technology for international trade and vendor financing.
Best Fintech Apps of India in 2025
1) Paytm
What started as a mobile wallet is now one of the best fintech apps of India in 2025 and has become popular all over the country with its "Paytm Karo” slogan. Paytm provides a multi-payment architecture where you can manage your bank accounts, invest in funds, get credit or debit card info, pay your bills and house rent, and recharge your internet. Paytm is beneficial to end-users and millions of merchants in India.
2) PolicyBazaar
PolicyBazaar was developed to gather all the data about insurance policies on one centralized platform. It became more popular during COVID-19 since the number of policymakers increased during the pandemic. It is one of India’s biggest marketplaces for transparent online insurance services. Policy Bazaar users can get more clarity on products and choose from various options, like investment, healthcare, vehicle insurance, and many more.
3) Razorpay
Razorpay is an interconnected network of various bank systems created to simplify transactions and cash flow throughout the country. It was developed by a group of students from IIT Roorkee and has now become a multi-product company. With Razorpay, merchants can manage their invoices and payroll accounts and automate transactions. It powers the digital payments of several businesses in India.
4) CRED
CRED is a trustworthy, low-friction platform that makes it easier for users with multiple credit cards to maintain a good credit score. As a user, you can get alerts about payment deadlines with its AI-backed system. It can also analyze the user's spending habits and display that report in seconds. It spots suspicious transactions and notifies users to act immediately and protect their money.
5) BharatPe
BharatPe is one of the best QR-code-based digital payment solutions Kirana store owners and vegetable sellers use to accept UPI statements. Most merchants have their own QR codes that customers scan to pay for an item, and the best part is that merchants don’t have to pay transaction fees for this. After thoroughly analysing their credit card scores, it offers merchants instant loans.
Challenges for fintech app development companies in India
1) Staying compliant with regulations
Compliance is like trying to dance to a song that keeps changing tempo! Some of the Indian fintech companies don’t invest in compliance in the initial phases of development, which can later cost them more money in the form of fines for violating the regulations. It’s also challenging to stay current with newly created government regulations; every product or service could have its own rules.
2) Inadequate government support
Here’s the biggest catch for the restrictions on fintech and the safety of consumer data: the government. While acknowledging the innovations in financial technology, the government body must also assess the associated risks. Despite fintech being one of the most significant contributors to the economy, the government's lack of incentives and freedom tends to make fintech companies lose interest in the financial market.
3) Data security threats
Data security is one of the biggest challenges for fintech app development companies in India. Data is more vulnerable in digital format since traditional banking systems have guards and CCTVs to protect consumer data. A large amount of financial data in digital format raises issues of data handling and security. Even a single data breach can tarnish a fintech's reputation and cause it to lose the long-time trust it has established with consumers.
4) Financial illiteracy
The urban sector of India mainly adopts cashless digital payment technologies. Not all customers in India are entirely on board with cashless digital payments. Due to a lack of financial awareness, many Indians are still stuck with traditional methods for cash transactions. They aren’t ready to adapt to safe, quick, and cashless digital payments. This is because they are only taught how to make money, not how to manage it.
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