RBI Guv Sanjay Malhotra vows consultative approach with fintech firms

By Anup Roy

 

India’s central bank asked fintech firms and digital payment companies to ensure responsible innovation and better compliance, even as it promised a more consultative approach.

 

The Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra met with non-bank payment system operators and fintech companies in Mumbai on Wednesday. The central bank chief said he expected “responsible innovation and emphasized the need for ensuring compliance by the entities who are new to regulatory space,” the RBI said in a statement. 

 

The regulator would continue to adopt a “consultative approach,” the central bank said, adding that new-age technology companies such as payment system players and account aggregators played an important role in the growth of India’s financial system and economy.

 

Malhotra’s latest comments will likely provide relief to the industry hit hard by a crackdown on errant firms under his predecessor Shaktikanta Das. The RBI last month rolled back some of its restrictive measures, saying banks don’t have to set aside additional risk weights on loans to better rated non-banking financial companies.

 

The fintech firms shared their feedback on the evolving payment and fintech ecosystem, and discussed their expectations from the central bank, the RBI said.