SBI Chairman Pitches For National Financial Grid To Check Frauds

State Bank fo India Chairman CS Setty on Tuesday pitched for the creation of a 'National Financial Grid', which will connect all parts of the ecosystem to check fraud. The grid can include credit bureaus, fraud registries, e-KYC facilities, the unified payments interface platform, account aggregator and also the recently introduced unified lending interface (ULI), Setty said.

'Can we create an NFG that connects all the critical elements? It will be one unified open access infrastructure layer that can be leveraged across the ecosystem,' he added.

It will be a 'shared digital infrastructure for fraud and risk management', Setty noted.

Speaking at the CII Financing Summit here, Setty also said that the sector participants have come together to form the Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation, a not-for-profit entity, which is a shared digital infrastructure to offer real-time data to financial sector participants with the final aim of customer protection.

He also suggested the creation of a 'digital twin' for small businesses to make it easier for them to access finance.

The 'digital twin' will capture all the data pertaining to an entity, which will present a complete picture of it and help in accessing financial services.

Despite several efforts, there is unmet demand when it comes to accessing financial services, which forces entities to go to informal and unregulated sources of finance as well, Setty said.

The 'digital twin' will transform micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) lending from the present relationship-based model to a data-driven one, he added.

Speaking at the same event, Union Bank of India Managing Director and chief executive Ashish Pandey called for a review of the technology system at state-run banks.

He also flagged talent development and skilling them as another of the key challenges for the sector.