Strategies for Mainstreaming Financial Technologies by Rural Financial Institutions (RFIs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) with Special Reference to Cooperative Banks

Application of financial technologies (fintech) has emerged as the biggest innovation in financial landscape including banking. It has changed the way the banking was done all these years. Interestingly, this innovation has immensely benefitted both the industry and customers alike, besides helping to achieve the avowed objective of financial inclusion. Rural financial institutions (RFIs) and a few small sized microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been comparatively slower in mainstreaming fintech in their operations, which had an adverse impact on their business and also posed various operational and regulatory challenges to them. It is high time that a fresh look is taken on their existing use of technology, and a comprehensive plan with specific deliverables is prepared by them for adoption of financial technology.