DLAI to rebrand itself to Unified Fintech Forum as it pursues its 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).

 

This is in response to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) internal feedback on its bid for official SRO status, according to three sources from the fintech industry.

 

The fintech association has over 120 members. Since August 2024, the organisation has added members beyond digital lending companies. This is especially after the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) was granted official SRO status by the banking regulator.

 

In a message to its members, DLAI chief executive officer (CEO) Jatinder Handoo confirmed the name change of the organisation. Business Standard has reviewed the message. 

 

“I am glad to update you regarding the new name registration with RoC (Registrar of Companies). Finally, after 8-10 rejections over the last two months, we have been able to register a new name with the word fintech into it. The registered name is Unified Fintech Forum,” the CEO’s message read. 

 

DLAI did not respond to Business Standard’s request for a comment till the time of going to press. 

 

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

 

“They also felt it was important to be representative of the fintech sector which is why the name was changed to represent the ecosystem in the country. It is one of the feedbacks that the association may have worked on after the regulator announced another body as an SRO,” one of the people close to the development added. 

 

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 has added members on the B2C side of the fintech ecosystem. Earlier, the primary members of the association were largely B2B. However, the RBI’s focus with an SRO-FT is last-mile customer protection, which is why the membership needed to be more nuanced,” a second person added. 

 

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. 

 

“The association is constantly in touch with the regulator to work on any feedback they may have. However, the application may not be rushed anytime soon since we already have an SRO for the industry,” another industry executive added.