Fintech Influencers in India: A New Era of Financial Advice

The global pandemic COVID-19 has proven to be a great test for the world and has altered
peoples' priorities and preferences all over the world. . In the history of mankind for the first
time more than 70 percent of nations including developed, developing and underdeveloped
nations have been under lockdown

With respect to health, social life, economic stability and employment etc., the pandemic
created multiple uncertainties among people which brought lots of behavioural changes such
as working remotely, spending a lot of time indoors, adapting to home-schooling, increasing
attention to health and hygiene, avoiding crowds, increasing social media engagement,
shifting towards online contents etc.
The impact was so huge that pandemic caused significant changes in the world socially as
well as economically.

The pandemic has compelled businesses to transition from traditional ways to online to
showcase their products and services. The pandemic made people think about the basic
necessity of digital marketing in everyone‘s life, as the virus created many uncertainties
among customers and marketers concerning health, social life, economic stability,
employment, and so on. During the outbreak of the pandemic, people had abundant free time
to spend on digital platforms such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon,
Flipkart etc.

And prevalence of such changes on digital platforms creates huge opportunities for marketers
to scale up digital marketing and advertising to create digital contents and brands to digitally
communicate with customers more than ever before as there has been an increase in social
media engagement and the desire for digital contents and thereby increase earning
opportunities during the outspread of Covid-19.

As per reports, around 4.48 billion people have been active on the internet, which is around
58 per cent of the global population, as of October 2019. Today’s world people have
gradually been adjusting to digital transformation, online video conferencing software
‘Zoom’ reports the growth of around 78 percent profit, Google Meet report reports around 60
percent increase in user traffic, where people are spending 2 billion minutes meeting online
every day (Kim, 2020).

THE LOCKDOWN GAVE PEOPLE MORE TIME TO LOOK AT THEIR

FINANCES. THEY CAME TO YOUTUBE FOR INFORMATIVE CONTENT”

The popularity of these 10-20 minute-long videos is explained by India’s low financial
literacy rate of 27 per cent, according to the National Centre for Financial Education’s 2019
survey. So naturally, first-time investors, especially from far-flung towns and cities, are
drawn to these finfluencers. This also explains why some of their most-viewed videos are
“How to buy your first share”, “Get regular income from gold”, or even “Earn 2.5 crores in
20 years! How?”
 A 2022 survey by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) found that only 27.8% of Indians are
financially literate. This means that the vast majority of Indians do not have the basic
knowledge and skills needed to make informed financial decisions.

There are a number of reasons why finfluencers are so popular in India. First, the Indian
population is relatively young, with a median age of 28.6 years. This means that there is a
large number of people who are interested in learning about personal finance and investing.
Second, the Indian economy is growing rapidly, and more and more people are becoming
interested in investing their money. Third, the internet penetration rate in India is growing
rapidly, and more and more people are using social media to get information.

The Challenges Faced by Fininfluencers in India

Fininfluencers in India face a number of challenges. First, they are not regulated by
the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This means that there is no
oversight of their activities. As a result, there is a risk that fininfluencers could give
misleading or inaccurate information to their followers.

Second, fininfluencers in India often have a conflict of interest. They may be paid by
financial companies to promote their products and services. This means that their
advice may not be in the best interests of their followers.

Third, finfluencers in India often lack the necessary qualifications to give financial
advice. Many of them are self-taught and do not have any formal training in finance.
This means that their advice may not be accurate or reliable.

Types of finfluencers in India

There are two main types of finfluencers in India:

 Financial experts: These finfluencers are typically certified financial planners (CFPs),
chartered accountants (CAs), or investment advisors. They use their social media
platforms to share their expertise on a variety of financial topics, such as investing,
retirement planning, and tax planning.
 Self-taught investors: These finfluencers are individuals who have learned about
investing on their own and now share their knowledge with others on social media.
 They often focus on specific investment strategies or asset classes, such as stock
investing, crypto investing, or real estate investing.

The objectives for the topic Fintech Influencers in India: A New Era of Financial
Advice could be to:

 Understand the role of fintech influencers in the Indian financial landscape.

 Identify the key trends and developments in fintech influence in India.
 Analyze the impact of fintech influencers on financial literacy and inclusion in India.
 Evaluate the challenges and opportunities facing fintech influencers in India.
 Develop strategies for fintech influencers to be more effective in their work.

The current state of financial literacy and inclusion in India is low. According to a 2021 report
by the World Bank, only 53% of adults in India have a bank account, and only 27% have
access to credit. Financial literacy is also low, with only 24% of adults in India able to answer
basic financial questions.

A 2022 study by the National Institute of Bank Management in India found that finfluencers
have a positive impact on financial literacy and inclusion among young adults. The study
found that young adults who follow finfluencers are more likely to have a bank account, to
save money, and to invest in the stock market.

Financial influencers, commonly known as finfluencers, are individuals who provide unsolicited
investment advice on social media platforms. Many finfluencers have large followings and their
recommendations can have a significant impact on the investment decisions made by retail
investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been concerned about finfluencers, particularly
because most of them provide investment advice or recommendations to the public without being
registered as investment advisers or brokers
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