A new wave of fintech innovation is targeting one of India’s biggest financial inclusion challenges — making banking, credit and cash services available faster and closer to customers.
At Global Fintech Fest 2026, Department of Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Lohiya launched three technology-led solutions, in the presence of UIDAI CEO Saurabh Vijay.
The first is an open-source Android ATM that can instantly issue personalised RuPay debit, credit and NCMC cards and merchant UPI QR codes, potentially reducing turnaround time from weeks to minutes. It can also support cheque deposits, account opening and loan applications. Banks are exploring the machines as Digital Banking Units in rural and semi-urban areas, as well as at airports, metro stations, educational campuses and corporate parks.
Nine banks, including SBI, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, PNB, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, UCO Bank, Slice Small Finance Bank and Airtel Payments Bank, are evaluating the solution with NPCI and ATM OEMs Hitachi Payment Services, Perto India and Vortex Engineering.
The second innovation extends Credit Line on UPI to eligible KCC and PM MUDRA beneficiaries. The schemes collectively cover over 7.7 crore operative KCC accounts with sanctioned limits above ₹10 lakh crore and more than 57 crore PMMY loans exceeding ₹40 lakh crore.
The third, AePS Three-Party Cash Deposit, enables eKYC-registered customers to deposit cash into beneficiaries’ accounts through participating operators, backed by Aadhaar biometric authentication and beneficiary validation. Fourteen banks are currently enabled, with more expected to join.