Ryan McInerney, CEO of Visa Inc., highlighted that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) isn’t solely viewed as competition but rather as an opportunity, emphasising the potential for collaboration and advancement within India’s dynamic fintech environment.
During his inaugural visit to India as CEO in November 2022, McInerney was impressed by the nation’s digital payment landscape, particularly by innovations like UPI, QR codes, and soundboxes, describing India’s advancements in digital payments as transformative forces.
McInerney remarked that the developments with UPI in India were nothing short of remarkable. He emphasised the potential for Visa to capitalise on this opportunity, viewing UPI as a platform to further financial inclusion. McInerney expressed intentions to collaborate with banks in creating new credit products and empowering consumers financially, enabling them to ascend the credit ladder and accumulate wealth. These sentiments were shared during a fireside chat at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2024.
Ryan’s positive outlook also encompassed the extensive adoption of QR payments in India, crediting local fintech innovation as the source of inspiration.
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Ryan noted that Indian fintechs had expanded their understanding of the effectiveness of QR payments. He mentioned their exploration of other markets where QR could become the preferred form of payment, emphasising that this insight was inspired by the developments witnessed in India.
In the financial year 2023, Visa’s network facilitated payments amounting to $15 trillion and processed 276 billion transactions across 200 countries. India stands out as a pivotal strategic market for Visa, and beyond its headquarters in the United States, India hosts the second-largest employee base for this prominent card network corporation.
When questioned about utilising India’s stack, the CEO noted that the global community is closely observing its developments.
The CEO highlighted a significant opportunity to export India’s stack, emphasising the impressive components such as Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, and ONDC. He praised these elements for their extraordinary capabilities, stating that when examining the product roadmap and transparency, India’s stack could rival even the most renowned big tech players worldwide. “If you look at the product roadmap and transparency, I wouldn’t put it (India stack) up against any of the best big tech players on the planet”, he said.
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