From Aadhaar to the Future of UPI: Bharat Fintech Summit 2026 Maps the Next Phase of India's Fintech Growth

VMPL
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 24: The Bharat Fintech Summit 2026, presented by The Digital Fifth, concluded today at the JW Marriott Sahar, Mumbai, after two days of discussions on the evolution of India's digital financial ecosystem. The summit brought together over 250 speakers across 95+ sessions, spanning three tracks - Transformation, Payments & Investment, and Lending, Risk & Compliance - to examine how new-age technologies such as AI and ML, evolving DPDP compliance frameworks, cross-border payment systems, secure and unsecured lending models, MSME finance, and capital flows are reshaping acquisition strategies, payments infrastructure, and financial services in India and beyond.
The summit opened on 10 February with an inauguration led by Chief Guest Shri Neelkanth Mishra, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), followed by a session titled 'Aadhaar and the Future of Digital Identity: Strengthening the Rails of Financial Infrastructure', where he underscored the digital transformation catalysed by Aadhaar, its many use cases, and even demystifying new features on the Aadhaar app such as selective sharing, age-gating, verified credentials, and one-click biometric lock-unlock. His speech focused on digital identity, Aadhaar-enabled infrastructure, and the strengthening of India's financial rails. He also discussed the population-scale adoption and use of Aadhaar, emphasising innovation and stakeholder engagement to enhance ease of living.
Key leaders from NPCI BHIM, as well as leading networks like VISA, led sessions that revealed how digital payments in India are evolving from enabling access to becoming an everyday habit, driven by simple and reliable systems that make small, frequent transactions seamless. These sessions emphasised that trust--through secure and consistent experiences--is critical to sustaining scale, alongside expanding merchant acceptance and strengthening resilient national infrastructure to support long-term, inclusive growth.
Commenting on both days of the summit, Sameer Singh Jaini, Founder and CEO, The Digital Fifth, said the two-day discussions reflected the maturity of India's fintech ecosystem. "Across payments, lending, and AI, the focus has clearly shifted from scaling access to strengthening institutional frameworks. The conversations over the past two days underscored the importance of governance, interoperability, and data-led decision-making in building durable financial infrastructure," he said.
Shashank Shekhar, Co-founder, The Digital Fifth, added that the breadth of dialogue signalled increasing convergence across the ecosystem. "What emerged strongly was the integration of policy, technology, and capital. Whether it was embedded finance for MSMEs, AI-led credit systems, or regtech infrastructure, the emphasis was on long-term resilience and responsible growth," he said.
Sreekant Rudrabhatla, Co-Founder and Head of Sales and Partnerships, The Digital Fifth said," Investment Day was a tremendous platform for fostering connections between fintech startups and leading investors. Over 20 high-potential startups met with 15 prominent investors across more than 70 one-on-one meetings. The discussions were not only insightful but also highly actionable, with several startups now well-positioned to secure funding. This level of engagement reflects the growing maturity of India's fintech ecosystem and the strong investor confidence in the innovation, scalability, and impact these startups are bringing to the financial services landscape."
Day 1 discussions explored digital payments monetisation, merchant acquiring in a UPI-led market, MSME lending frameworks, and AI-driven credit decisioning. The day featured thought-provoking sessions led by industry leaders as well as panel discussions. A key highlight of Day 1 was the launch of the Embedded Supply Chain Finance Report, which examined how embedded credit models are reshaping access to working capital for MSMEs within supply chain ecosystems. The inaugural day also hosted 'Investment Day', a dedicated capital-access platform that convened over 50 high-potential startups with leading venture capital firms.

Day 2 expanded the conversation to AI adoption, regtech infrastructure, cross-border fintech expansion, and capital allocation trends. Sessions including "The Rise of RegTech Infrastructure," "Digital by Design: Creating Resilient Banks for the Next Decade," "AI in Action: Redefining Performance, Personalisation, and Purpose in Banking," and "Agentic AI in Credit" examined how governance, model risk management, and data systems are becoming central to institutional growth strategies.
In the Payments & Investment track, key leaders addressed systemic trust and evolving risk frameworks in digital payments. Discussions also featured perspectives from regulatory and central banking stakeholders on deepening trust and enabling everyday digital usage at scale. Conversations across sessions reflected growing emphasis on global expansion, merchant technology stacks, and venture and private equity approaches to fintech scale and capital discipline.
Meanwhile, the Lending, Risk & Compliance track focused on DPDPA readiness, integrated risk technology stacks, AI governance, and regulatory expectations in digital lending, highlighting the increasing convergence between compliance frameworks and technology architecture.
The summit concluded with the Fintech & Digital Excellence Awards 2026, recognising outstanding contributions across payments, lending, digital banking, and technology innovation. The awards were presented as follows:
* Fintech Leader of the Year - Ketan Gaikwad, MD & CEO at Receivables Exchange of India Limited (RXIL)
* Woman Fintech Leader of the Year - Shruti Aggarwal, Co-Founder at StashFIN
* Fintech Company of the Year - M1XCHANGE
* Emerging Fintech of the Year - Fixerra Pvt. Ltd.
* Digital Innovation in Bank (MSME/SCF) - Axis Bank Ltd.
* Digital Innovation in Bank (Retail) - Suryoday Small Finance Bank
* Best Digital NBFC of the Year - Grihum Housing Finance Ltd.
* Best Use of Emerging Technology - Fintech - Financial Software and Systems (FSS)
The Bharat Fintech Summit 2026 marked its largest edition to date, reinforcing its role as a convening platform for dialogue between banks, fintech firms, regulators, investors, and technology leaders shaping the future of financial services.
About Bharat Fintech Summit 2026:
The Bharat Fintech Summit is envisioned as a two-day content focused industry conclave dedicated to fostering meaningful discussions and deliberations on the ever-evolving landscape of the BFSI sector, with a specific focus on digital transformation.
This summit serves as a platform for sharing collective wisdom with a diverse ecosystem, including regulators, key BFSI stakeholders, banks, NBFCs, fintech innovators, investors, industry associations, and technology solution providers.
About The Digital Fifth:
The Digital Fifth is a digital-first consulting firm focused on driving large-scale transformation across the BFSI ecosystem. The firm works closely with Banks, NBFCs, Wealth, Insurance, FinTechs, financial service providers and technology service providers to solve complex business challenges at the intersection of strategy, technology, regulation, risk and compliance and customer experience.
With a practitioner-led approach and deep domain expertise, The Digital Fifth helps BFSI leaders design future-ready digital product, business operating models, re-engineer processes, design customer friendly digital journeys, and unlock value from emerging technologies. Its digital-native DNA and forward-looking insights enable organisations to respond to today's market realities while preparing for the next phase of financial services evolution.
The firm is committed to enabling BFSI organizations to build resilient, compliant, and customer-centric businesses for a digitally savvy economy.
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