India has been one of the fastest-growing fintech markets in the world over the past decade. According to a KPMG report the Indian fintech market is valued at US$31 million and poised to rise to US$84 billion in 2025. This would make it the third largest ecosystem, after China and the US. Digital payments are the fastest growing segment of the fintech ecosystem. The volume of transactions increased 33% year-on year during FY 2021-22.

Digital payments are simplifying the lives of millions upon millions of customers as well as merchants. It also creates a demand for top-end tech talent to develop cutting-edge solutions and products in the payments industry. Let’s take a look at the tech skills that will define the future Indian payments industry.

User Interface/User Experience design

The process of creating a platform for technology that provides a great user experience is called User Interface/User Experience (UI/UX). UX/UI designers focus on many system aspects, such as usability and convenience. They do more than just design the visual elements. They also create intuitive UX flows that allow customers to accomplish their tasks quickly and efficiently.

Frontend engineering expertise is also required by companies. This includes web development as well as mobile app development. These engineers are responsible for implementing the UI/UX design across all devices and browsers.

A payment platform’s ease-of-use makes good UI/UX design a prerequisite. A payment platform that has a confusing interface, inconsistent colour schemes, and nested menus would not be adopted by customers. Customers and merchants will prefer a simple and intuitive user interface, which will encourage mass adoption of the payment platform. Payment companies are always looking for experienced UI/UX designers to help them give their platforms the right look, feel and ensure that they work well.

Cloud Computing skills

Due to the rapid growth of digital payments in India, any major payment platform will require huge computing power and database management systems in order to facilitate transactions that are seamless, secure, and fast. Payment volumes can fluctuate due to seasonal fluctuations and customer demand cycles. Cloud computing offers flexibility and scale to payment platforms that can manage fluctuations in transaction volumes. It also preserves the merchant and customer experience. Amazon Pay’s cloud architecture allows partner banks to use UPI to build core banking services in cloud.

Cloud computing also allows payment platforms to deploy new products and solutions much faster than traditional IT methods. The pay-as you-go model allows businesses to reduce their infrastructure costs. To make the most cloud-based services, payment platforms are looking for cloud service platform specialists, cloud programmers and network and database managers.

Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning architects

Customers would prefer a simple app that allows them to pay, but they want one that offers personalized experiences and is tailored to their spending habits and cost requirements. AI/ML can be used to understand customer behavior, use historical customer usage patterns to predict future needs and create memorable customer experiences. Amazon Pay recognizes these opportunities and uses machine learning whenever necessary to create seamless customer experiences.
The use of ML algorithms can make payment platforms more personal, intelligent, and one-stop-shop for many day-to-day payments. AI/ML adoption can also help the payment platform make data-driven decision while identifying potential strategic collaborations with merchants to offer more value to customers. A payment platform can be differentiated by data scientists and AI/ML architects.

Cybersecurity strategists

In India, rising digital payments volumes have led to an increase in cyber- and payments fraud cases. According to RBI data, India had reported digital financial frauds totalling Rs 36,342 crore in April 2021 and September 2021. Cybercriminals are launching more sophisticated attacks against payment platforms. Therefore, cybersecurity investments have become a priority. Amazon’s cybersecurity experts ensure that digital transactions are secure. They use ML-powered risk detection system that continuously monitors any sign-in and transaction activity across all risk variables. To reduce the risk of fraud in payments, we also offer targeted customer education programs. The demand for cybersecurity specialists in payments businesses is constantly increasing. They will need to have extensive training and experience in security operations management and technology-specific skills. This will allow them to develop a proactive cybersecurity strategy that protects payment platforms from frauds, attacks and abuse.

The urgent need

Each of these technology domains can be used to create multiple job positions. To be a strong advocate for the payments industry, candidates must have soft skills which you can learn from AI/ML Course. These include communication skills, problem-solving and analytical skills, as well as critical decision-making skills. The digital payments industry has seen a lot of growth over the last few years. However, there is still a huge opportunity to innovate for customers. This opportunity will allow both aspiring and experienced tech professionals to help shape India’s future fintech industry.

By Manali