India's fintech innovations set global benchmarks, says Kiya.ai CEO

Mumbai [Maharashtra], October 9 (ANI): India's growing leadership in digital finance and artificial intelligence is setting new benchmarks for innovation, said Rajesh Mirjankar, Managing Director and CEO of Kiya.ai.
At the sidelines of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025, Mirjankar told ANI that the GFF, though focused on India, has become one of the largest fintech gatherings in the world. "It is a great platform to showcase India's strength in fintech and payments. Whether it is UPI or the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar scheme, our innovations are setting benchmarks globally," he said, highlighting how India's digital transformation has gained international attention.
He explained that this year's event marks "a new chapter led by innovation," with artificial intelligence emerging as a key area for collaboration. "If AI is the focus, then both countries can work together in many areas," he said, referring to the scheduled visit of PM Narendra Modi and UK PM at GFF.
Mirjankar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of "AI for All" has inspired inclusive innovation. "The Prime Minister had said that artificial intelligence should be an inclusive product, and that will be the mission of the Government of India," he noted. Kiya.ai, he added, has developed a patented technology that supports this goal, allowing users to interact with banking systems in local languages through AI-powered pods.
"These pods can communicate in Hindi or any other Indian language. They can help with onboarding or answer simple banking questions, like how much interest a customer will earn if they deposit Rs. 10,000 for three years," Mirjankar said. "Whatever assistance customers get at a bank branch, they can now receive through this machine."
He added that the next step in this evolution will be "neo-banking pods," which can offer 24x7 financial assistance using AI. "We are working with many banks on pilot projects using this technology. Artificial intelligence can do much more in this space," he said.
Mirjankar pointed out that India's success with UPI has shown what is possible when innovation and inclusion go hand in hand. "When UPI started nine years ago, few expected it to reach billions of transactions. Today, around 500 million accounts are linked through QR code-based payments. What took other countries 30 years, India achieved in just three," he said.
He emphasized that inclusivity remains the key to progress. "If inclusivity is the goal, then the sky is the limit," he said. According to Mirjankar, every bank, whether private, public, or cooperative, now needs to provide accurate, round-the-clock service through technology. "If we can train systems to give the right information at the right time, the entire banking and financial sector will benefit," he concluded. (ANI)