The City of London today announced that it has become a formal programme partner for the Access India Programme (AIP) with financial technology at the heart of the tie-up.
Access India Programme was launched by the High Commission of India in London last year with the aim of facilitating investments by UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) into India.
The formal partnership with the City of London Corporation, which has already been working with AIP informally, will revolve around hosting delegations, providing practical support and advocacy and regulatory inputs.
"The UK is a world leader in fintech and by some estimates home to around 1,600 fintech companies. With cash accounting for most transactions in India, and around one-fifth of the population still unbanked, I look forward to seeing how UK expertise can help accelerate the digital revolution, said Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation.
The corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile of London, the financial heart of the city. It has a representative office in Mumbai since 2007 to enable long-term relationship building with financial sector stakeholders across India and around 10-15 Indian financial firms are based in the Square Mile, which the corporation works closely with.
Indian high commissioner to the UK, Y K Sinha, said, "The sharing of domain knowledge and expertise in financial services and fintech will greatly benefit the programme as well as facilitate UK companies in these sectors to invest in India.
"I hope that our partnership with the City of London will serve as a platform for encouraging companies in the UK to tap the opportunities available in world's fastest growing large economy."