Budget 2026 expectations: Industry calls for stronger digital payments push, cybersecurity spending and support for alternative credit models
As Budget 2026-27 approaches, stakeholders are pressing for measures that deepen digital payments adoption, strengthen cybersecurity and build resilient financial infrastructure. Executives also want policy support for new credit assessment models that use transaction and cash-flow data to widen access responsibly.
NEW DELHI: With the Union Budget 2026-27 nearing, industry voices have sharpened their wish list around India’s fast-growing digital finance ecosystem—urging the government to invest in security, payments infrastructure and policy frameworks that can widen access to formal credit without compromising trust.
In a Budget expectations live update on Monday (January 26, 2026), Bobcard Limited Managing Director and CEO Ravindra Rai argued that continued emphasis on digital payments and cybersecurity would strengthen confidence across the ecosystem, especially as consumers and merchants increasingly shift to real-time, digital-first transactions.
The comments point to a broader concern for 2026: digital adoption is now mainstream, but the system’s weakest links—fraud risks, account takeovers, social engineering and payment spoofing—can quickly erode user trust. For that reason, the business case for public policy support is framed less as “growth at any cost” and more as “growth with safeguards”.
Industry also expects sustained encouragement for technology investments in secure payment platforms, better cyber defences, and newer instruments such as tokenised or virtual cards. Support for UPI-linked credit products, executives say, could help bridge the gap between convenience and access—particularly for younger users and small businesses that want seamless checkout experiences but still face credit constraints.
Another recurring demand is policy backing for alternative credit assessment models. Instead of relying only on traditional bureau histories, lenders want explicit enablement to use cash-flow and transaction data—where consent and data protection rules are clearly defined—to bring first-time borrowers and underserved segments into the formal net.
For Budget 2026-27, the message from the payments-and-credit ecosystem is straightforward: keep expanding the rails, but harden them. As digital finance becomes critical infrastructure for households and enterprises, the expectation is that fiscal policy, regulation and technology standards will move in tandem so scale does not outpace safety.