2017 ICT4D Conference

Current market indicators in India suggest that conditions are increasingly favorable for the emergence and expansion of successful Digital Financial Services (DFS) ecosystems and that the country is expected to experience exponential growth in the DFS sector in the near term. Further, DFS has the potential to dramatically accelerate access to, and deepen the penetration of, formal financial services in India.

This is particularly true for the Emerging Middle Class (EMC) that resides in less urban areas along the periphery of Tier 1 cities, referred to as Tier 2, 3, and 4 centers.

Given their size as a population segment, shifting life goals and aspirations, and growing income levels, the EMC is also likely to play the role of catalyst in mainstreaming DFS adoption and usage. That said, service providers are still in the early stages of experimenting with different models, service offerings, and products to best meet the needs of specific market segments, which exhibit distinct attitudes, abilities, and behavior patterns.