Understand FinTech from branch to code.
Five short modules with visuals you can touch. Answer the questions. Your score shows on the live class leaderboard.
What is FinTech?
FinTech is short for "financial technology". It is the use of technology to deliver and improve financial services.
Technology
Software, data and networks do the work. People do less manual work.
Financial service
Payments, loans, investments, insurance and compliance. All use the same base technology.
New model
The change is in the process, the data and the customer experience. A website copy of a paper form is not enough.
Five ideas that define FinTech
Select a card to read the meaning.
One transfer, two systems
Run the comparison. The times are typical values, for illustration.
Branch transfer
UPI transfer
From brick to click
Finance used technology for more than 150 years. Each step moved banking away from the branch and closer to the customer.
Seven FinTech verticals
FinTech is not one industry. It is a group of areas. Each area applies technology to one part of finance.
The technology behind FinTech
Five technologies power most FinTech products. Study each one. Then test two of them: blockchain and APIs.
Blockchain: test a tamper
Each block stores the hash of the block before it. A hash is a short code that the data produces. Edit the data in any block. Watch what happens to the blocks after it.
APIs: consent-based data sharing
An API lets two software systems exchange data under fixed rules. Select "Next step" to follow one request.
FinTech in India and its rules
India has a strong FinTech base. Public digital systems and clear regulation explain much of it.
India Stack
Scale of digital payments
Figures from the course handbook.
Growth drivers
| Driver | Effect on FinTech |
|---|
Who regulates what
| Body | Role in FinTech |
|---|---|
| RBI | Regulates banks and payment systems. Runs the Regulatory Sandbox (2019). Sets digital lending guidelines. Regulates Account Aggregators. Pilots the e-rupee (CBDC). |
| NPCI | Develops and runs UPI. RBI and the Indian Banks' Association set it up. |
| SEBI | Regulates the securities market. Sets rules for robo-advisors, investment advisors and online brokers. |
| IRDAI | Regulates insurance. Supports new products and channels. Protects policyholders. |
| MeitY | Oversees broad digital initiatives, such as Aadhaar. |
Banks and FinTechs
Disruption
FinTechs offer faster, cheaper or simpler services. They compete in payments, lending and customer experience.
Collaboration
Banks bring licences, trust and customers. FinTechs bring speed and technology. Many firms partner.
Evolution
Banks adopt digital methods. FinTechs add regulated products. The line between them becomes thin.
Live leaderboard
The table updates when a student answers. Rank depends on points. For equal points, the earlier finish ranks higher.
| Rank | Student | Answered | Points |
|---|
Scoring
Key points
FinTech applies technology to finance. It changes the process, not only the channel. The history moves from telegraph to ATM, to online banking, to smartphone, to UPI. Seven verticals cover payments, lending, wealth, insurance, compliance, blockchain and neobanking. AI, big data, cloud, APIs and blockchain power them. In India, public digital systems and clear regulation speed up growth. Risk control stays part of every product.