RBI took initiative to bridge communication gap with fintechs: Deputy governor
The
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) took the initiative to reach out to fintech startups and begin a healthy and constant conversation, which has helped the regulator understand the ecosystem better, deputy governor
T Rabi Sankar
said on Tuesday.
Addressing the
Bharat Inclusion Summit
in Bengaluru, Sankar said, 'Initially, there was a sort oT Rabi Sankarf gap. The ecosystem wasn't really interacting (with the regulator) as much as the RBI would have liked. We — myself, the Governor, and various officials in the department — took the initiative.'
He added that the regulator made additional efforts to ensure that the conversation between the ecosystem and the regulator is healthy, constant, and productive.
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Over the past year, in particular, he said, the central bank has understood the fintech sector's expectations from the RBI.
'At the same time, I would like to believe it has helped the fintech ecosystem understand the expectations of the regulator; understand the importance of trust, which would come from responsible innovation,' he said.
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The RBI official also said that the central bank has taken the initiative to help the fintech sector come up with a self-regulatory organisation (SRO), which can act as a bridge between the industry and the RBI. Currently FACE (Fintech Association of Consumer Empowerment) is the only Fintech-SRO licensed by the RBI.
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These statements from one of the senior-most officials of the banking regulator come at a time when scrutiny on the fintech sector has gone up manifold, resulting in a business slowdown and funding challenges for many companies.
From tightening the rules around peer-to-peer lending to bringing payment startups within the fold of regulations, the RBI has been clamping down on unchecked innovation in the space over the last couple of years.
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