Namma Yatri drivers are also early pilots for unified lending interface

The initial focus of the Unified Lending Interface is to provide small-ticket loans and improve collection efficiency

Auto-rickshaw drivers on the Bengaluru-based cab aggregator Namma Yatri platform are part of the early pilots testing unsecured credit on the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), according to people in the know.

 

 These pilots focus on providing small-ticket loans while improving collection efficiency. One key initiative in the pipeline includes tapping into Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mandates automated repayments.

 

“UPI autopay is one of the use cases that can be introduced for monthly or bi-monthly collection from drivers who take credit via ULI. This will ensure better credit behaviour from borrowers since autopay mandates can collect periodically,” said an executive on the condition of anonymity.

 

ULI is a platform that unlocks financial and non-financial data, making credit underwriting seamless and customer journeys frictionless for a diverse range of borrowers. The earliest pilot for ULI (earlier known as Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit) was kicked off in 2023, with the system being gradually rolled out in 2024. Currently, UPI autopay mandates have been introduced for recollections across lending products. “Autopay is touching about 40 million every month, including subscriptions. It works for all collections,” said another senior industry executive.

 

As of December 2024, over 0.6 million loans amounting to ₹27,000 crore were disbursed using the ULI platform, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Around 36 lenders, including banks and NBFCs, have been taken on board the platform.

 

One of the people quoted above added that innovative recollection practices such as dynamic recollection, could be explored once the pilots on systems such as ULI accelerate further.

 

“A driver may earn varying amounts in a week or a month. Accordingly, based on the loan size that one may have availed, lenders can look at recollecting dynamically during a given period. If a driver's earnings are on the higher side in a week, one may explore if recollecting an amount proportional to earnings can be feasible,” the executive added.

 

Namma Yatri is the zero-commission mobility app on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The ULI architecture features common and standardised application programming interfaces (APIs), designed for a “plug and play” approach. This ensures digital access to information from diverse sources, reducing the complexity of multiple technical integrations. As a result, borrowers will benefit from seamless credit delivery and quicker turnaround times without requiring extensive documentation.

 

Former RBI governor Shaktikanta Das has said that ULI will transform the lending space similar to how the UPI revolutionised the payments ecosystem. ULI has been conceptualised by the RBI, designed and developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH).

 

With ULI, lenders have easy access to customer data from various silos, including government databases (e.g, land records, GSTN), satellite imagery, and milk pouring societies using a simple plug-and-play model. Separately, as ULI borrowers gain access to more personalised and inclusive financial products, it makes borrowing simpler and more accessible. 

Easing process  > ULI is a platform that unlocks financial and non-financial data, making credit underwriting seamless  > Currently, UPI autopay mandates have been introduced for recollections across lending products  > ULI has been conceptualised by the RBI, designed and developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH)