FM Sitharaman asks RBI to hold monthly meetings with startup, fintech firms

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked Reserve Bank of India to hold monthly meetings with startup and fintech firms to address their concerns, officials said.

The minister made the suggestion at a meeting with startup and fintech eco system entities that was attended by top executives of about 50 firms, including Razorpay, CRED, and venture capital firm PeakXV.

"Finance Minister suggested that RBI may hold a meeting on a fixed day every month via virtual mode with the startup and fintech firms to address their concerns and issues," one of the officials said.

The official said that no Paytm-related anxiety or concerns were shown by the startup founders and fintech entities during the meeting.

From the government side, the meeting was attended by Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi, DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) Secretary S Krishnan. RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar was also present.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara and NPCI officials too were present.

The meeting comes at a time when RBI's action against Paytm Payments Bank has put the spotlight on regulatory compliance in the fintech industry.

Further, the official said that cybersecurity-related concerns were raised by startups. Some startups suggested that government should take proactive steps to deal with such frauds.

The startups and fintech entities appreciated the processes and efficacy of GIFT City, the official added.

On January 31, RBI barred Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from accepting any fresh deposits or top ups from customers after February 29 for not complying with regulations. The deadline was later extended till March 15.

Last week, RBI advised the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to examine the possibility of migrating the users from PPBL to four to five other banks. PPBL has 30 crore wallets and 3 crore bank customers.