CEO Insights Magazine

India's Financial industry is at a watershed moment, owing significantly to the now exploding FinTech industry. Marking the progress, the Reserve Bank of India(RBI)recently launched a 'Financial Inclusion Index'or FI Index to measure and improve the access, usage and quality of financial inclusion in the country. The index will track the financial inclusive ness of citizens, especially those who are not part of the banking system, small depositors in the banking and postal system, micro investors, and pensioners among others. According to the FI-Index, after an amazing 24 percent improvement over the last four years India's financial inclusion is currently 53.9(100). The credit goes to hardly a handful of pioneers of the FinTech industry like Suneel Gupta, Founder & Director, QuickSun Technologies Pvt. Ltd, who have been able to foresee the need for democratizing financial services. Hence, it's fair enough to denote that the success of Suneel is synonymous with the success of the industry. We are delighted to engage Suneel in an exclusive interview with CEO Insights. Below is an excerpt from the interview.

You boast an illustrious career in the technology solutions arena that spans across 37 years. What inspired you to choose a career path in the Financial Services industry?
The early days of my career were focused on Computer Hardware & Software Develop ment and I take pride in being able to engender many firsts in Computer Hardware development in the eighties. With the dawn of the nineties, my focus shifted to building Software Services as the Technology industry was starting to take off. Then came the opportunity to do path breaking projects in the Financial world, which included serving about a billion under banked people in India. I embraced the opportunity with both hands and started working for the masses in India.

What is the driving force that shaped you into the leader that you have become today?
As I mentioned, the opportunity to impact a billion people came my

way about 14 years ago. At that time the Government of India was struggling to implement its Financial Inclusion policies due to multiple bottlenecks. This was the kind of challenge that I was looking for, after having delivered multiple Solutions to many companies across the continents. We were able to overcome all the bottle necks & created technologies which enabled inclusive growth in the country. We were also the pioneers of the Aadhar system which was later taken over by the Government of India.

How would you define QuickSun Techno logies as an organization and where is it positioned in the Financial Services Market?
QuickSun Technologies was built on the foundation of financial inclusion. Now we are taking it forward to deliver Financial Services to all individuals the manner that they want to use them. Unfortunately, the traditional Banks are not able to ramp up to this challenge because of their size.

Our vision is to deliver financial services to the customers ‘whenever they need it', wherever they need it & in the manner they need it'. Our offerings are highly customized to match the various needs of different segments of customers. Our portfolio of services includes Banking Services, Payment Services, Investment Services, Lending Services, and Travel Services among others.

Could you share insights about the time you were nominated by the Ministry of Finance to lend your expertise in creating a Rupay Standard for Chip Banking Cards in order to enable thecountry to move forward from MasterCard/Visa platforms?
When the Rupay Card was being designed, the Ministry wanted the card to be at the center of the Financial Inclusion drive of the government, while being able to be used for normal transactions as well. So they had constituted a committee to lay down a roadmap for the Rupay Card. I was nominated to the committee as an expert from the Financial Inclusion segment. One of the main objectives was also to move the country away from Visa/MasterCard transactions, which traditionally led to depen

dency on a foreign system, while also leading to a large Foreign Exchange outgo for the country.

What are the most memorable milestones that have given you utmost satisfaction among all your professional experiences so far?
I have been involved with multiple IT led revolutions in India. Having been able to use my knowledge and expertise to help the country, each of them has given me utmost satisfaction. The first one(mid-80s to mid-90s)was in Computer Hardware develop ment, wherein I was involved with the many ‘firsts' in the country. The second would be in the Software Services industry(mid-90s to mid-2000s), wherein I was involved from scratch in building the services of an IT major as well as its India Brand. The Software industry was able to get the Country out of the woods [by earning Foreign Exchange]. The last one would be the Financial Inclusion segment, where the Systems & Technology I created has had a major impact in the country.

As the founder and director of QuickSun Technologies, what are your future plans?
Now that Financial Inclusion is firmly set on its path, it is time to take Financial Services to the next level. Currently each Bank/Service provider has a set of services which are offered to customers without understanding their needs. Financial Services need to become easily Accessible & Adaptable to the needs of all segments of the Society. We call it Democratization of Financial Services. This is what QuickSun would be looking to change. Using cutting edge technologies including Artificial Intelligence & Analytics, we are customizing each person's experience with the system.

Suneel Gupta, Founder & Director, QuickSun Technologies
Suneel completed his High School from Cambridge University followed by a B.Tech Degree from IIT Kanpur in 1984. His father was an ICS Officer& worked for the Government of India. He has been happily married for 35 Years and is a proud Father of a son and a daughter who are Computer Engineers. His son Ankur is a Co-Founder and is helping in building QuickSun.

Hobbies: In early life, Postal Stamp collection.
Favorite Cuisine: Indian & Italian.
Favorite Book: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
Favorite Travel Destination: Scandinavian Countries.

Awards & Recognition:
The Manthan Award for Digital Inclusion in South Asia. North India Best Employer Brand Award ­2021