Navigating The Dark Side Of Fintech: A Developer Perspective

The rapid growth of fintech in India has unlocked many opportunities, making banking services available to the underserved population. However, it has also exposed consumers to the risk of unfair lending practices, data misuse, and regulatory blind spots. Drawing from recent research by Brinda Sampat, Emmanuel Mogaji, Nguyen Phong Nguyen on fintech's unintended consequences, we critically examine these challenges and propose a digital fort to ensure ethical fintech growth in India, prioritising consumer protection and regulatory compliance.1 We define digital fort as a security and compliance architecture that combines technological infrastructure, data protection measures, and ethical business practices. This framework helps fintech developers, industry leaders, and policymakers in guarding the financial operations. It is also useful in defending against technical vulnerabilities and predatory practices.