Growing geopolitical tensions, the increasing use of artificial intelligence and emerging risks in digital payments have raised concerns about global financial stability, with policymakers and financial experts calling for stronger safeguards at the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Samvad 2026 seminar.
What Are the Main Financial Risks?
Discussions at the two-day international seminar, held in New Delhi on October 19 and 20, focused on strengthening financial systems against emerging threats. Participants identified climate change, financial technology companies, the growing use of AI agents and geopolitical fragmentation as significant challenges requiring greater regulatory attention.
RBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said financial stability had become a policy objective in its own right, extending beyond the health of individual banks and financial institutions to the wider financial system, including non-banking entities. Participants also warned that financial crises were developing more quickly and becoming more intense, making continuous monitoring and preparedness increasingly important.
How Could AI Affect Financial Stability?
Former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, currently Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister, cautioned that artificial intelligence could create new vulnerabilities within financial markets and institutions. He highlighted concerns about untested AI valuations and uncertainty surrounding the profitability of AI-related businesses, warning that these factors could increase financial risks.
Das also pointed to prolonged international conflicts and growing economic fragmentation as pressures on global financial conditions. He said these developments were contributing to sovereign debt stress and called for stronger financial institutions, adequate financial buffers and improved regulatory supervision to protect economies against unexpected disruptions.
What Is India’s Financial Position?
Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said India remained relatively well-positioned despite uncertainty in the international economic environment. She highlighted the country’s macroeconomic stability, supported by a credible fiscal trajectory and flexible inflation targeting, as important factors in maintaining economic resilience.
Her remarks came amid wider discussions about the ability of financial systems to withstand global disruptions. Participants examined how economic stability could be maintained while technological changes, international tensions and evolving financial risks continued to reshape the operating environment for banks and regulators.
What Changes Are Needed in Digital Payments?
The seminar also examined challenges associated with AI-driven financial transactions and cross-border payment systems. Discussions highlighted the importance of ensuring that payment infrastructure remains accessible, affordable, secure, convenient, fast and interoperable as digital financial services expand.
Participants emphasised the need for common standards governing international transactions, stronger safeguards against financial crime and better access to domestic payment solutions. The discussions reflected concerns that technological innovation must be accompanied by effective oversight to prevent new vulnerabilities from affecting financial stability.
Why Is Financial Inclusion Important?
Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said expanding access to financial services could support income growth and create economic opportunities. However, participants stressed that financial inclusion should go beyond simply providing access to banking and payment facilities.
The discussions highlighted the importance of effective usage, financial empowerment and greater economic resilience, particularly as financial services become increasingly digital.
The420 Insight
The discussions underline the need for financial regulators to address risks arising from artificial intelligence, cross-border payments and geopolitical uncertainty without slowing technological progress. Stronger supervision, secure payment systems and effective financial inclusion will remain important as financial institutions adopt increasingly complex digital technologies.
About the author — Ayesha Aayat writes on cybercrime, digital safety, and emerging online threats. Her work focuses on public awareness, legal clarity, and technology-driven risks.
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