Fraud prevention should be top priority for fintech investors

Despite a surge in cases, most Indian fintech startups have not focused on combating fraudulent user behaviour, safe in the knowledge that investors will keep pouring in money.

A combination of regulatory scrutiny and the ongoing funding slump is pushing fintech founders to prioritize risk management and compliance. While some founders are now becoming less tolerant of frauds, not everyone is willing to change their ways. 

Globally, fintech deals slowed to $52.5 billion in the January-June period, as against $55 billion in the first half of last year. While the overall fintech funding dropped 14% across the world in the first half of this year, it dipped around 3% for Indian startups, says a report by funding tracker Dealroom.co. Yet, fintech firms in Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe …

Author

Advait Palepu

Advait is a financial journalist and a former writer at The Morning Context. Here, he wrote on India’s banks, the wider financial services industry and the fintech ecosystem. He has previously worked with the Economic and Political Weekly, Business Standard, BloombergQuint and MediaNama, where he covered everything from the Reserve Bank of India to fintech policy.

Writer

advait@mailtmc.com

Mumbai