How has the pandemic affected cash and digital payments in India? Which instruments have seen accelerated adoption and which FinTechs have emerged as victors? This report answers these questions through the experiences of three Indian women who navigated 2020 using a diverse range of payment instruments.

As part of the i3 Program in Vietnam, we met Nguyen Huong, a micro-entrepreneur in Vung Tau. Huong’s story is a perfect example of the journey of women-led MSMEs who utilized social media and digital payments to keep their businesses in operation during COVID-19.

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, digital pathways offer a hopeful sign in the country’s payments landscape. This second edition of MSC’s analysis covers select payments system indicators in India during Q3 2020—with some surprising results.

Various socio-economic dimensions drive the financial needs, aspirations, and behaviors of low- and moderate-income (LMI) customers. Customers from Bangladesh and Vietnam, through these snippets, describe their challenges and how the i3 Program helped them overcome these challenges.

During the pandemic, Duong Thi Thuy, a mobile money agent in the Quang Ninh province, improvised her business to help her community follow the guidelines on social distancing and government norms. This is her story about the adoption of DFS and how it changed her life.

How has the pandemic affected Indian FinTechs? What measures have the policymakers taken? Are these measures impactful for FinTechs? What are the investor sentiments for this sector? This report, the first in a series of ongoing Covid-19 research on Indian FinTechs and the Indian FinTech ecosystem by MSC, answers these questions in the current market’s context.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many users to adopt digital payments as they seek convenience and safety. MSC’s analysis of five categories of payment systems indicators in India indicates that these systems are dependable, durable, and command the mass market’s confidence.

The blog analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 on two major categories of FinTechs—credit and savings FinTechs. We analyze the immediate impact of the pandemic and the ensuing regulatory changes on FinTechs along with some long-term changes in consumer behavior that can have a systemic adverse impact. We close by recommending data-driven measures that credit and savings FinTechs should take today to control and arrest such adverse changes in consumer behavior.