SRO: From CBDC, UPI ATM to Payments SRO: RBI lays out route map for fintech industry

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wants self-regulatory organisations (SROs) to play a critical role in ensuring consumer interest is protected and the nascent fintech industry grows in a responsible fashion. Addressing the gathering of the industry at the Global Fintech Fest today, RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar pointed out that the regulator will set up another SRO for the payments industry.

Sankar further added that he is confident of SROs being able to reduce potential risks while ensuring the growth of the fintech sector.

Additionally, Sankar expects SROs to find inefficiencies that exist in the financial services system, identify them and eventually sensitise the industry in addressing those gaps in a manner that consumer interest is protected and industry grows at the same time.

The regulator is also looking for an update on the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, which was enacted back in 2007.

The fintech industry has gathered in Mumbai for the Global Fintech Fest, with multiple sector regulators, fintech startups, banks and the National Payments Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) coming together to launch new products and the future roadmap for the growing industry.

On Wednesday, the central bank licenced the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) to become the first SRO for the fintech industry. Two more applications by the Fintech Convergence Council and Digital Lenders’ Association of India are being considered by the regulator.

Simultaneously, the RBI also announced the launch of user-level programmability on the central bank-backed digital currency (CBDC). “We want CBDC to grow in a manner that we are comfortable with and we have not set any target in terms of adoption or number of transactions for CBDC,” Sankar said on the sidelines of the event.

After launching UPI Circle or delegated payments on UPI on Wednesday, the NPCIL launched ATM withdrawal, cash deposit, and such facilities on UPI today.

Customers can use their UPI apps to deposit and withdraw cash from ATMs of different banks.

Also, NPCI Bharat Billpay Limited (NBBL) has rebranded the Bharat Bill Payments System (BBPS) as Bharat Connect.

Earlier in the day while addressing the gathering in Mumbai, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch pointed out that she wants fintechs to build processes and systems in a manner that compliance becomes a ‘low hum’ in the background. The fintech sector needs to drive innovation in the larger financial services space, but compliance is something that she feels entrepreneurs need to keep in mind.

She added that Sebi has received around 6,000 suggestions from the industry on the discussion paper released by the markets regulator on futures and options (F&O) trading.