DLAI rebrands itself to Unified Fintech Forum as it pursues SRO bid

The Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI), a deemed self-regulatory organisation for the fintech sector (SRO-FT), is rebranding itself as Unified Fintech Forum (UFF).

 

FlexiLoans co-founder Manish Lunia was elected as the president, whereas MobiKwik co-founder was elected as the vice-president of the organisation’s executive committee.

 

The body represents 120 members in regulated and unregulated firms engaged in digital financial services.

 

The rebranding is in response to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) internal feedback on its bid for official SRO status, Business Standard reported last month.

 

“The expansion of fintech services over the past decade has transformed our interaction with digital money and has brought in more responsibilities among players in the fintech ecosystem, especially from client protection and product suitability perspective,” said Jatinder Handoo, chief executive officer, UFF.

 

The rebranding comes months after the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) was granted official SRO status by the banking regulator.

 

Last year, the RBI said that it had received three applications from organisations to become an SRO-FT. DLAI’s (now UFF) application was not returned, but is currently under examination, according to sources.

 

“The redesign and new leadership underscore UFF’s dedication to forge collaboration among stakeholders, improve regulatory compliance, and promote responsible innovation within India’s fintech sector,” the body said in a statement.

 

An SRO is a non-government organisation that acts as a bridge between industry players and the regulator, and sets standards for the conduct of entities operating in the country.

 

DLAI was established in 2016 as a not-for-profit company. Its members include digital lenders, technology service providers, payment gateways and aggregators, and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), among others.