Published on 4th September 2026
Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
https://in.linkedin.com/in/prashantnayakanti
The Intro
Open LinkedIn today or any Finance News Channel
Mumbai seems to have become a fintech newsroom.
Post after post.
GFF.
Fintech.
Payments.
AI.
Tokenisation.
Quantum.
Startups.
Regulators.
Investors.
And somewhere behind all those posts is one city:
Mumbai.
Bandra Kurla Complex.
Jio World Centre.
Trident BKC.
The financial capital.
The familiar home of the Global Fintech Fest.
And I started wondering from Bengaluru:
What if, every alternate year, GFF travelled to another Indian
city?
Not permanently.
Not instead of Mumbai.
Just every alternate year.
A Little History
GFF began in 2020, with its early editions shaped by the
virtual format of the pandemic period. The GFF website maintains archives going
back to 2020. (Global
Fintech Fest)
By 2022, GFF had a physical edition at the Jio World
Convention Centre in Mumbai, alongside its virtual component. (Global
Fintech Fest)
And GFF 2023 was described by the organisers as its second
physical edition, again at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. (Global Fintech Fest)
Today, GFF 2026 is being held from 8–11 September at Jio World
Centre and Trident BKC, Mumbai. (Global
Fintech Fest)
Mumbai has clearly become its home.
Perhaps now comes a different question.
Act I — Mumbai Has Earned Its Place
There is something special about GFF in Mumbai.
From BKC to Nariman Point.
From the BSE to the NSE.
From Fort to Lower Parel.
From Powai to Andheri.
From the airport to the conference halls.
Mumbai already speaks the language of finance.
And GFF has grown here.
Today, it brings together policymakers, regulators, central
bankers, financial institutions, technology companies, startups and investors
from across the world. (Global
Fintech Fest)
So I am not suggesting:
Move GFF out of Mumbai.
Mumbai has earned its place.
I am wondering about something else.
What if GFF stayed in Mumbai every alternate year — and, in
the year between, travelled to another Indian city?
Not a replacement.
A rotation.
Act II — The Year Between
Imagine the next GFF.
Not in Mumbai.
In Bengaluru.
MG Road.
Koramangala.
Indiranagar.
Whitefield.
Electronic City.
Startup founders arriving.
Bankers arriving.
Investors arriving.
Fintech enthusiasts arriving.
The GFF signs appearing across the city.
And the year after that?
Mumbai again.
Then perhaps:
Hyderabad.
HITEC City.
Gachibowli.
Financial District.
Then Mumbai again.
Then Chennai.
Guindy.
Taramani.
OMR.
Then Mumbai.
Then Pune.
Ahmedabad.
Kochi.
Delhi–NCR.
Bhubaneswar.
Jaipur.
Different cities.
Different fintech communities.
One GFF.
Every alternate year, another city gets its turn.
Act III — A City Should Not Have To
Do It Alone – A State Partner
Of course, moving a global event is not simply about choosing
a convention centre.
There is travel.
Hotels.
Airport connectivity.
Local transport.
Security.
Venues.
Digital infrastructure.
State and local administration.
Business ecosystem.
Volunteers.
Hospitality.
And hundreds of small things that nobody notices when they
work perfectly.
So perhaps, whenever GFF travels outside Mumbai, there could
be something else:
A Partner State.
Imagine:
GFF 2028 — Bengaluru, Karnataka.
with the Government of Karnataka as the Partner State.
Or:
GFF 2030 — Hyderabad, Telangana.
Or:
GFF 2032 — Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
The exact model?
I leave that entirely to the GFF organisers.
The thought is simply that the host state becomes part of the
journey — particularly around the logistics required to make a global event
work smoothly.
Because GFF would not merely be coming to a city.
The city and the state would be welcoming GFF.
The
Whiteboard
EVERY ALTERNATE YEAR, CAN GFF TRAVEL BEYOND MUMBAI?
Nothing More. Nothing Less.
The Citizen Observation
India's fintech story is no longer confined to one geography.
It is visible in Bengaluru.
Hyderabad.
Chennai.
Pune.
Ahmedabad.
Kochi.
Delhi.
Gurugram.
Jaipur.
Bhubaneswar.
And countless other places.
People in these cities are not merely watching fintech happen.
They are building it.
Using it.
Funding it.
Regulating it.
Researching it.
And talking about it.
Perhaps they should get to experience the joy of GFF in their
own city too.
Not every year.
Not as a replacement for Mumbai.
Just:
Mumbai one year.
Another Indian city the next.
Mumbai again.
Another city again.
A rhythm.
A rotation.
A journey.
Closing Thought
GFF started in 2020.
It evolved through virtual and physical formats.
And today, in 2026, it has become a major global fintech
gathering in Mumbai. (Global
Fintech Fest)
Perhaps the next evolution doesn't have to be another
technology.
Perhaps it could simply be geography.
Because India's fintech story has many addresses.
Maybe the Global Fintech Fest can have more than one.
Mumbai gave GFF a home.
Perhaps India can give GFF a journey.
April 11 - Digital Transactions Day
April 11 – The start of UPI
Digital Transactions Day is about looking beyond the
transaction.
Sometimes, the larger opportunity is to ask:
Can a digital ecosystem become more accessible by taking the
experience closer to people?
GFF already connects the world with India's fintech ecosystem.
Perhaps, every alternate year, it could also connect India's
fintech cities with GFF.
Disclaimer
This Citizen Observation is a personal suggestion based on
publicly available information about the Global Fintech Fest and its evolution
since 2020.
It does not prescribe a venue, city, host-state arrangement,
funding model, logistics model, or implementation mechanism.
The choice of venue, city, partner state, format and
operational model rests entirely with the GFF organisers and relevant
stakeholders.
Citizen suggestion only.
Copyrights, if, any belong to the original copyright holders
only.
The Joy of Digital Transactions
Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)
Author’s Blogs
https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com
