I have been lucky to have had a clear passion and also the ability to make that passion into a profession. Having a linear path definitely helped accelerate some of the successes in my career as I was able to draw insights from past experience and apply to my current job. One you have worked in a sector for 8-10 years, you can start seeing patterns and you develop an instinct to solve problems quickly.
Tell us about your story, background and journey so far.
I was born in a middle class family in Bihar and spent most of my childhood in Patna. My parents worked in public sector/government jobs. My dad worked in a bank and my mom worked at LIC. Dinner table conversations at my home used to be about banking, insurance, government policies and the power of finance to transform the lives of individuals.
As a child, I wanted to be part of these conversations too and be “cool” like my parents so I started reading Economics Times at the age of 12. While I hardly understood anything I read in the paper, subconsciously I developed an affinity towards finance & economics. My dinner table conversations while growing up played a big role in shaping my thinking about my career choices and I ended up enrolling in St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai to study Economics.
How important is it for lending institutions to consider a comprehensive view of a credit applicant’s financial profile?
Traditionally, lending institutions would give loans based on collateral or income of the applicant. These two variables would become the proxy for the ability to pay back the loan. However, a key part of credit risk management is to evaluate the willingness to pay back a loan. This is where a comprehensive view of an applicant’s financial profile comes into picture.
How do you keep up with rapid changes happening in this sector & stay on top of the game?
I read a lot of FinTech newsletters like ‘This week in FinTech’ & ‘FinTech Brainfood’. I also listen to Podcasts such as ‘NPR’s Planet Money’ & ‘The Fintech impact’. I also follow many FinTech CEOs, journalists and regulators on twitter and keep in touch with the latest and greatest via their tweets.
Which is your favorite book and why?
Sapiens used to be my favorite book for a while but recently The Code Breaker has my heart. The Code breaker is a great read in the times of Covid and trying to understand the mRNA vaccines. However, what makes it my favorite book is the fact that it tracks the career and achievements of badass female scientists who have totally revolutionised medicine.
After graduating from St. Xavier’s, I joined a management consulting firm Dalberg that was focussed on building a more inclusive and sustainable world where all people, everywhere, can reach their fullest potential.
At Dalberg, I ended up doing multiple projects in the Financial Inclusion space while leveraging technology and worked across geographies in Indonesia, Myanmar, India, etc. These projects made me realize the importance of regulation/ government initiatives in the adoption of FinTech products.
I went to Harvard University for my Master’s and spent my 2 years researching the intersection of business and government in the adoption of FinTech products. While at Harvard I co-authored research papers on FinTech products that are impactful and expand financial health & outcome for individuals.
My research papers introduced me to my current employer-Digit- that’s focused on making financial health effortless by automating savings, investing and banking for low-middle income Americans. My Journey so far has been super linear with the focus on using Finance for good.
How did you approach your career & what led you to reach such a pinnacle?
Financial services is in my DNA and growing up I heard multiple stories of how a loan transformed a small business into an export house or how an insurance cover protected a family from going into poverty after an unexpected accident. I was motivated by the power of finance, If used correctly it can break the poverty cycle and lift people out of poverty.
Financial services is in my DNA and growing up I heard multiple stories of how a loan transformed a small business into an export house or how an insurance cover protected a family from going into poverty after an unexpected accident. I was motivated by the power of finance, If used correctly it can break the poverty cycle and lift people out of poverty.
This was the central thesis of how I approached my career. Once I figured out the central thesis, I started working towards it step by step and gaining skills, networks and knowledge that would be imperative to become successful in this space. Very quickly I realized that technology when combined with finance (or FinTech) can be even more transformational when used in areas that were traditionally outside of the formal financial sector. Hence, most of my career I have worked in expanding Financial products among the underserved by using technology.
I have been lucky to have had a clear passion and also the ability to make that passion into a profession. Having a linear path definitely helped accelerate some of the successes in my career as I was able to draw insights from past experience and apply to my current job. One you have worked in a sector for 8-10 years, you can start seeing patterns and you develop an instinct to solve problems quickly.
I have been lucky to have had a clear passion and also the ability to make that passion into a profession. Having a linear path definitely helped accelerate some of the successes in my career as I was able to draw insights from past experience and apply to my current job. One you have worked in a sector for 8-10 years, you can start seeing patterns and you develop an instinct to solve problems quickly.
I also put in effort to develop a network of mentors, advisors and peers who I could rely on if there was a new problem or if I needed to learn something new in the sector. This was undoubtedly a big reason for my success as I had allies both within my company and outside who would bring my name up for new opportunities. Being an immigrant woman of colour in fintech wouldn’t have been easy if not for my network of mentors and allies.
What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career & how did you overcome that?
The biggest challenge I faced is probably the challenge faced by most Indian fresh undergraduates. Our education system doesn’t bridge the gap between student life and professional life. I had no experience working with excel, powerpoint or writing reports. This really hampered my learning in the first 1 year of joining Dalberg. Dalberg was a global firm with employees from around the world and most of them were from top educational institutions and Ivy leagues and were trained in skills that were relevant professionally.
What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career & how did you overcome that?
The biggest challenge I faced is probably the challenge faced by most Indian fresh undergraduates. Our education system doesn’t bridge the gap between student life and professional life. I had no experience working with excel, powerpoint or writing reports. This really hampered my learning in the first 1 year of joining Dalberg. Dalberg was a global firm with employees from around the world and most of them were from top educational institutions and Ivy leagues and were trained in skills that were relevant professionally.
The difference between the quality of work expected and my skill level was large. I was skipped for promotion while everyone else in my peer circle was getting promoted. I had the intellectual raw material but my professional skills weren’t polished enough to be working in a global firm alongside colleagues from around the world. I acknowledged my weakness and made mentors within Dalberg who would give me writing assignments that I would finish outside of work hours. My managers who were mostly Ivy league educated had a good knack of writing reports and I latched on to them for guidance and feedback.
I enrolled into multiple training sessions for excel at work and got a couple of hands-on projects that helped me learn excel on the job. I just spent 6 months learning without any ego and finding every opportunity to get feedback on my work and improve the quality of my work. This helped me tremendously and I was able to get 2 promotions in 1 year and not only did I make up for the lost promotion, I skipped ahead.
What fundamental changes do you think are required in the fin-tech sector to enhance the adoption among masses?
India is far ahead in FinTech innovation and adoption than even developed countries like the US. PayTm, PhonePe are household names and UPI has made payments instant and cheap in India. Internet is now becoming ubiquitous even in small towns in India which has further accelerated the adoption of Digital payments. India now needs to focus on making FinTech accessible and easy to use. Few things that could further enhance this adoption:
Simplicity: User interface/User experience has to be simple enough that it can be used by a 70 year old or someone in rural India. If someone has to “learn” how to use a FinTech product then that product has failed this objective.
Customised products beyond payments: A large part of the FinTech revolution in India is fuelled by Digital payments and Digital lending. Time is now right to expand into custom products that are tailored to an individual’s financial profile. FinTechs should launch products that know the customers, understand them, make decisions on their behalf and reward them based on their daily lives and changes in their financial profile. Next round of FinTech innovation should replicate the intelligent experiences users have become accustomed to during the pandemic with Netflix, Instagram, Amazon and others.
Data security and privacy: Data leaks, platform downtimes, and information theft has become quite rampant in the financial services space. Data is the backbone of FinTechs. Developing a strong mechanism to protect data and preventing data breach is key to increasing trust in FinTechs and in turn expanding adoption.
What fundamental changes do you think are required in the fin-tech sector to enhance the adoption among masses?
India is far ahead in FinTech innovation and adoption than even developed countries like the US. PayTm, PhonePe are household names and UPI has made payments instant and cheap in India. Internet is now becoming ubiquitous even in small towns in India which has further accelerated the adoption of Digital payments. India now needs to focus on making FinTech accessible and easy to use. Few things that could further enhance this adoption:
Simplicity: User interface/User experience has to be simple enough that it can be used by a 70 year old or someone in rural India. If someone has to “learn” how to use a FinTech product then that product has failed this objective.
Customised products beyond payments: A large part of the FinTech revolution in India is fuelled by Digital payments and Digital lending. Time is now right to expand into custom products that are tailored to an individual’s financial profile. FinTechs should launch products that know the customers, understand them, make decisions on their behalf and reward them based on their daily lives and changes in their financial profile. Next round of FinTech innovation should replicate the intelligent experiences users have become accustomed to during the pandemic with Netflix, Instagram, Amazon and others.
Data security and privacy: Data leaks, platform downtimes, and information theft has become quite rampant in the financial services space. Data is the backbone of FinTechs. Developing a strong mechanism to protect data and preventing data breach is key to increasing trust in FinTechs and in turn expanding adoption.
Traditionally, lending institutions would give loans based on collateral or income of the applicant. These two variables would become the proxy for the ability to pay back the loan. However, a key part of credit risk management is to evaluate the willingness to pay back a loan. This is where a comprehensive view of an applicant’s financial profile comes into picture.
In today’s age of data and technology it has become easier to evaluate willingness to pay back. Lending institutions can look at micro-data such as bill payment history made through digital wallet or credit card prepayment rates and determine willingness to pay. FinTech lenders have gotten even more creative and have started looking at alternative data to determine both ability and willingness to pay. These alternate data points allow FinTechs to offer lower rates and higher loan amounts to low risk users.
FinTechs regularly use rent payment history, transaction history, income and expense patterns to determine the size of the loan as well as the interest rate of the loan.
How do you keep up with rapid changes happening in this sector & stay on top of the game?
I read a lot of FinTech newsletters like ‘This week in FinTech’ & ‘FinTech Brainfood’. I also listen to Podcasts such as ‘NPR’s Planet Money’ & ‘The Fintech impact’. I also follow many FinTech CEOs, journalists and regulators on twitter and keep in touch with the latest and greatest via their tweets.
Which is your favorite book and why?
Sapiens used to be my favorite book for a while but recently The Code Breaker has my heart. The Code breaker is a great read in the times of Covid and trying to understand the mRNA vaccines. However, what makes it my favorite book is the fact that it tracks the career and achievements of badass female scientists who have totally revolutionised medicine.
0 Comments