PM Modi Inaugurates Global Fintech Fest 2026, Pushes UPI’s Global Expansion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the seventh edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 in Mumbai on Tuesday, welcoming innovators, industry leaders and investors from across the world.

The four-day event, running from September 8 to 11, is themed “Potential to Impact: Agentic AI, Tokenisation, Quantum – Trusted, Connected, Global Systems for Inclusive Finance.” It brings together policymakers, regulators, fintech companies, investors and academia.

On the opening day, Modi called his third consecutive appearance at GFF a “hat-trick,” linking it to his government’s third consecutive term. “This hat-trick shows how important you are for a Viksit Bharat, how important your work is,” he said.

Modi pointed to India’s 7.8 percent GDP growth in the April-June quarter, achieved despite global trade tensions and supply-chain pressures, and credited rising youth participation and risk-taking in the fintech sector for strengthening his confidence in the country’s future. He cited the PM SVANidhi scheme, which brought street vendors into the formal credit system and raised their average annual income by more than 20 percent, as an example of fintech-driven inclusion.

He also referenced UPI’s ten years of operations, completed on August 25; the system is now live in 11 countries. The Prime Minister urged fintech companies to expand UPI beyond payments into savings, credit, insurance and pensions, and called for linking India’s payment infrastructure with systems in other countries with strong trade and diaspora ties.

He set out four priorities for the industry: stronger cybersecurity, voluntary data protection standards, closer coordination with regulators, and a Fintech Consumer Protection Index.

Modi closed his address with a nod to the upcoming Ganeshotsav festival in Maharashtra.