Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai and highlighted India’s rapid transformation in digital finance. He praised the success of UPI and called for expanding India’s fintech ecosystem globally. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai, focusing on the next phase of India’s fintech journey. The event, being held from September 8 to 11, brings together policymakers, financial institutions, technology leaders, investors and fintech innovators from around the world. PM Modi highlighted the remarkable growth of UPI, describing it as a major success story of India’s digital transformation. He urged the fintech sector to expand UPI’s global footprint and explore greater integration with payment systems in other countries.
The Prime Minister also stressed that the future of fintech should go beyond digital payments, with greater innovation in credit, insurance, savings, investments and pensions. He identified Agentic AI, tokenisation and quantum technology as key areas that could reshape financial services. He further called for stronger cybersecurity, ethical data protection, innovation-friendly regulation and better consumer protection to build a trusted and inclusive digital financial ecosystem.
One of the major highlights of the Prime Minister’s address was Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Modi called UPI a major champion of India’s fintech story and urged the industry to expand its international reach by connecting it with payment systems in more countries.UPI is already operational in several international markets, including Singapore, the UAE, France and Nepal. Modi said wider global integration could make cross-border payments easier and help reduce remittance costs for Indians living and working abroad.The Prime Minister also called for fintech innovation to move beyond traditional digital payments. He highlighted opportunities in areas such as credit, insurance, savings, investments and pensions, with technology playing a greater role in making financial services accessible to more people.He also pointed to Agentic AI, tokenisation and quantum technology as emerging technologies that could create new possibilities for the financial sector.With the rapid expansion of digital finance, PM Modi stressed the importance of building a secure and trustworthy fintech ecosystem. He urged the industry to focus on top-level cybersecurity, ethical data protection and stronger consumer protection.He also called for a stronger partnership between regulators and the fintech industry so that innovation can continue while consumers remain protected.
