PM Modi to launch APIX banking technology for people without bank accounts

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi government is all set to launch a banking solution for two billion people without bank accounts worldwide. The PM will address more than 30,000 people at the world's largest gathering of financial technology companies in Singapore this week.

The technology event in Singapore will take place November 14 to 15 and PM Modi will attend a series of summits, including the East Asian summit and ASEAN meetings. He will speak at the Fintech Festival which has the largest gathering of global Fintech companies and delegates ranging from the industry leaders to smaller start-ups.

It is believed that 400 exhibitors from India will participate in the biggest ever technology event. Modi will launch APIX, a banking technology designed to reach two billion people worldwide who are still without bank accounts.

The banking solution to be launched has been designed by software experts based in Hyderabad, Colombo and London, APIX is a sophisticated technology by Boston-headquartered Virtusa, especially for smaller banks, Tier 3 and 4, to reach out to people in the remote regions.

The Prime Minister will be launching the technology at the invitation of Monetary Authority of Singapore, the International Finance Corp of the World Bank and the ASEAN Banking Association, said Nikhil Menon, Virtusa's senior vice president and Asia regional head.

APIX will support banks to reach out to those without bank accounts in 23 countries including the 10 ASEAN members as well as major markets such as India, and small nations including Fiji, said Menon

The event will witness India Pavilion of 18 companies of which eight companies are from Mumbai. The Pavilion is organised by the state-owned Maharashtra Information Technology Corp Ltd (MahaIT).

Mumbai Fintechs at the festival are seeking opportunities in the global markets, said MahaIT Fintech Officer Suniti Nanda.

"Mumbai, as a financial hub, is also a gateway for international fintech companies to enter the Indian market," Nanda said, adding that the festival gives opportunities both to understand global market requirements and present the potential of large-scale Indian consumers.

Malaysian fintechs have expressed interest in joining Indian fintechs to venture into India, according to Tushar Shankar, co-founder of Mumbai-based PhiCommerce which is presenting PayPhi, a three-year old cashless system of making payments.

PayPhi is a socio-economic platform enabling the simple villager to dweller in metro to make payment, he said.

The Malaysians want to tap the online buying power for Indian consumers, he said.

"We are also participating in the festival to get deeper understanding of the global market," said Shankar.