RBI Guv to Fintechs: Easy, Accessible Products

Mumbai, Oct 8 (PTI) Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday asked fintech firms to design products that are easy to use and accessible to all to help India achieve financial inclusion and become a developed nation by 2047.

Addressing the Global Fintech Fest 2025 here, Malhotra also flagged the issue of growing digital frauds and made a strong case for making efforts to curb the menace.

Quoting Apple founder Steve Jobs, Malhotra said, "Get closer than ever to your customers, so close that you tell them what they need well before they realise it themselves."

Adopt a customer-first approach, he said, adding, "design products and services that are easy to use, accessible for all, with assistive technologies, ensuring that the vulnerable groups such as the senior citizens, individuals with limited digital literacy and the specially-abled are not left behind."

He also urged the sector to prioritise trust and compliance as well as embed strong data protection, transparency and safeguards for consumers into every product and service.

Besides, he exhorted them "to think global while you anchor local. Engage with international partners, share learnings, adopt global best practises and strengthen India's role in shaping the future of digital finance."

By embracing these principles and building on India's unique strengths of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), he said, a vibrant ecosystem, a digitally connected population, enabling policies and a very deep tech talent, FinTech can bridge digital divides, foster healthy competition and drive innovation.

"In doing so, the FinTechs will not only secure their own growth and prosperity but also play a very vital and pivotal role in driving the growth and progress of our country and contributing to the vision of Visit Bharat 2047," he said.

Observing that India has a vibrant fintech ecosystem and the fintech industry has made it possible to deliver financial services at scale and affordable cost, he said, the country has close to 10,000 entities with more than USD 40 billion of investments over the last decade.

The sector has seen phenomenal growth and the future potential is underpinned by several strengths that this sector has, he said.

"First and foremost is the large and the deep pool of skills, technology talent that we have in our country. Second, a very vibrant financial ecosystem spanning payments, lending, insurance, pensions, wealth management which is supporting this fintech innovation," he said.

There are three enabling policies of the government and the regulatory frameworks which are facilitating the fintechs, he said, adding, the Reserve Bank has been continuously engaging with the fintech ecosystem.

"We have been proactive as is borne out by some 500 interactions, more than one a day, which we did last year...we regularly interact with the innovators and entrepreneurs. This demonstrates our commitment, our belief in the fintech industry," he said.

"We also have now a repository, a fintech repository to collect key information on activities, products and technologies aimed at enabling informed policy measures for the fintechs. Recognising the diversity of fintech sector, we have kept them outside the regulatory space today," he said.

But at the same time, he said, RBI recognised an SRO which will enable the fintechs to adopt baseline government governance standards and best practises which are developed by themselves alone and which are not thrust through some regulation by RBI.

He also said that Unified Lending Interface (ULI) aims to enable use of data for lenders to build alternative credit model as UPI has done in payment space.