AI fever, regulation calm, and FOMO in the air: What really went down at GFF 2025

AI fever, regulation calm, and FOMO in the air: What really went down at GFF 2025

If there’s one thing the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025 proved, it’s that India’s fintech story can still surprise you even after six editions, a thousand panels, and an infinite number of AI jokes.

Over three charged days from October 7 to 9, Mumbai’s Jio World Centre turned into a buzzing fintech city of its own, where startup founders traded notes on agentic AI and FOMO diaries of the AI bus, central bankers swapped ideas on inclusion, and yes, Vijay Shekhar Sharma rode the Metro to make an entrance, while many got the shock of their lives seeing cab fares at the end of the day.

The theme this year, “Empowering Finance for a Better World Powered by AI,” couldn’t have been more fitting. Because from booths to boardrooms, from ministers to machine-learning demos, AI was everywhere in every conversation, presentation, and, sometimes, punchline.

When AI became the talking point (and the icebreaker)

You could sense it everywhere, right from the panel titles, booth conversations, even in casual banter over coffee. Every discussion circled back to some version of artificial intelligence: generative AI for lending, conversational bots in insurance, agentic AI in capital markets, or small language models for payments.

NVIDIA had a noticeably stronger presence at GFF this year. Along with NPCI, it hosted the Bharat AI Experience Zone, a space for firms to showcase working AI innovations through live demos.

If last year’s buzzword was fraud-tech or collections, this year it was unmistakably AI. “There’s a lot of FOMO,” one startup founder admitted. “Last year, the RBI wasn’t very keen on AI. This year, the sentiment has reversed seeing the global mood and the pressure to stay ahead, no one wants to miss this bus. Startups, even banks, are trying something, but it’s all very experimental right now.”

That summed up the tone well: excitement mixed with realism. Everyone wanted to ride the AI wave, but most admitted they were still learning how.

Voice AI in particular was quite prevalent with demos all around. For instance, DCB Bank’s new multilingual AudioBot built with Ringg AI. Bengaluru-based Gnani.ai grabbed headlines with the launch of its AI-generated Digital Human, a self-cloned avatar that could talk, blink, and emote in real time.

AI may be the hero, but UPI still owns the stage

AI may have stolen the limelight, but UPI refused to fade quietly. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra unveiled the much-anticipated Offline Digital Rupee, finally bringing tap-and-pay to digital cash. He also launched AI-based UPI Help, powered by NPCI’s small language model, IoT Payments for connected devices, and UPI Reserve Pay, allowing users to block and manage credit limits across apps.

The discussions around digital currency, though, weren’t all solemn policy talk. In one of the lighter moments, RBI Governor P. Vasudevan and Razorpay’s Harshil Mathur traded friendly jokes over how CBDCs might one day make payment aggregators redundant. The banter drew laughs across the room. Mathur quipped that programmability of money could “give colour to cash,” while Vasudevan good-humouredly replied that “some payment players may not like that.” It was a rare public peek at how regulators and fintechs can talk shop, share a laugh, and still debate the future of money.

From AI models to metro rides

There were enough moments of lightness to balance the jargon. Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma was in his element during his fireside chat being witty, self-aware, and disarmingly candid. “Haar ke jeetne wale ko baazigar kehte hain. Jeetke haarne wale ko aur wapas jeetne wale ko entrepreneur kehte hain,” he said to a laughing audience.

Elsewhere, old friends and fintech veterans Sahil Kini (now at RBIH) and Amrish Rao (Pine Labs) reunited on stage, drawing nostalgic smiles from the audience who remembered their earlier stint at Setu. The missing name, of course, was Sachin Bansal.

And if the mix of bankers and founders wasn’t eclectic enough, this year’s GFF had a touch of Bollywood too. Hrithik Roshan made an appearance as the brand ambassador for RUGR, the fintech startup he recently joined hands with. Meanwhile, Suniel Shetty turned up for the exclusive launch of Zrai Shield, an AI-powered fraud management system. It felt unusual and a little surreal to see film stars sharing the same stage where RBI officials had spoken just hours earlier. But that’s GFF now: part business, part buzz, and a little bit of showbiz.

What the government brought to the table

The opening day saw the top policymakers set the tone. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the Foreign Currency Settlement System (FCSS), a mechanism for real-time forex settlement within the IFSC framework, while urging fintechs to balance innovation with risk and responsibility

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal struck an upbeat note, saying India had moved from being “a participant in global trade to a principal architect of the fintech world.” Calling trust “the only currency that never depreciates,” he urged Indian fintechs to “capture world markets” and make India the “centre of technology”

NPCI’s Ajay Kumar Choudhary spoke about the “promise and peril” of AI in finance, warning that as the industry leans on advanced chips, cloud systems, and large models, it risks over-dependence on a few players

Meanwhile, Nandan Nilekani reminded everyone that India had “achieved in nine years what would have taken 47” through its digital stack, as he outlined Finternet, a framework for tokenized and AI-enabled global digital infrastructure

Even SEBI Chair Tuhin Kanta Pandey and MoSPI Secretary Saurabh Garg had their say with Pandey highlighting India’s 134 million investors and faster settlements, and Garg describing a data system that’s becoming more open, AI-ready, and accountable

And then there was the UK Prime Minister’s special appearance on Day 3 — greeted by a glowing, decked-up Worli Sea Link, reminding everyone that GFF now commands a truly global stage.

Launches, demos, and quiet confidence

Product launches came thick and fast. Razorpay, NPCI, and OpenAI unveiled Agentic Payments, allowing users to complete UPI transactions inside AI environments like ChatGPT. Cashfree announced a similar chat-embedded checkout experience, while Lenskart showed off a new feature for its upcoming smartglasses — QR-based payments with no phone or PIN required.

Less razzmatazz, more real talks for VCs

While government leaders and regulators set the policy tone at GFF 2025, venture capital presence at the venue itself was relatively muted. Except for a few firms like Z47, MUFG, Lightspeed, TVS Capital and Peak XV, most investors chose to keep a lower profile this year.

Several VCs were spotted in nearby hotels and cafés, meeting founders and hearing pitches away from the bustle of the Jio World Centre.

Many investors said this year’s fintech innovations felt “incremental rather than disruptive,” though they noted growing maturity in products and business models.

As one VC quipped off the record, “GFF is where we come to listen to the government in the morning and the startups in the evening, both tell us what the future will cost.”

The vibe

As the sessions wound down each evening, the mood stayed light. Founders mingled with policymakers, some even turned DJs at the Startup Policy Forum mixer.

Music found its place too. The evenings at GFF weren’t all panel fatigue and PowerPoints. One of the highlights was a soulful sundowner by Shankar Mahadevan, hosted by Scapia, which had the crowd singing along after a long day of sessions.

The usual question floating across the pavilion wasn’t about valuation or funding; it was, “Bhai, tum ROI kaise nikalte ho GFF mein booth ka?”

Some even quipped on some pre-event circular asking firms to restrict their discussion around crypto (“So we all spoke about almost crypto instead,” one joked).

What also stood out this year was the mood between the fintechs and the regulators. Last year’s conversations were heavy with concern around new guidelines, strict diktats, and uncertainty over compliance. This year felt calmer. The air was lighter, the tone friendlier.

Many speakers even joked about how the “RBI table” and the “startup table” were finally on the same side of the room. As one founder quipped, “We can’t be best friends with the regulator, but at least now we’re sharing the same Wi-Fi.”

There was a sense that both sides had settled into a steady rhythm — an unspoken understanding that regulation and innovation now needed to move together.

As one participant summed it up, “Banks are way more open to change and new tech than before. Partly because the RBI wants solid systems, tighter checks on mule accounts, and NPA reduction. But also because they’re simply not averse to new ideas anymore.”