FIS financial inclusion lab opens in Bengaluru, to extend banking access

BENGALURU: As part of its Corporate Sustainability Initiative, FIS, a US-based provider of banking and payments technology solutions, will launch one-of-its-kind financial inclusion lab in Bengaluru, India. According to FIS, the lab is aimed at developing innovative ways to extend banking access to millions of underbanked citizens in India.

The lab is expected to foster innovation and entrepreneurship by sustainable methods, addressing societal needs through engagement with key industry and community stakeholders.

The lab is the first of its kind in India and the seventh FIS lab focused on innovation. It is designed to provide a working, collaborative environment for FIS to cooperate with business leaders, government organizations and NGOs across the country to create and test solutions that will help increase financial literacy for the majority of India’s unbanked population.

The lab’s interactive data tools also will help identify roadblocks to greater financial inclusion. For example, one of the lab’s first projects is the development of kiosk-based applications that can be deployed throughout the country to help promote financial literacy with students.

Commenting about the lab, Raja Gopalakrishnan, FIS Executive Vice President, Global Financial Institutions, said, “FIS is proud to foster innovation and entrepreneurship that addresses societal needs through engagement of different stakeholders. The Lab will provide a platform for knowledge sharing and enabling high impact sustainability programs that can be utilized by banks and other financial institutions in the future. We are very proud that we can give back to the communities where some of our employees live and work in such a meaningful way.”

Gopalakrishnan further commented, “The idea behind the lab stems from FIS’ focus on ‘Giving Back’, one of the company’s five 'guiding principles' that encourage a culture of service to clients, to FIS colleagues and to communities around the world to make a positive difference. In India, FIS employees live this principle by volunteering in their communities, hosting donation drives, building homes for the less fortunate, volunteering at local food shelters and many other activities.”