Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced the United Fintech Forum as the second self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for the fintech sector, underlining the central bank's commitment to supporting innovation while calling on fintech companies to strengthen trust, governance and operational resilience.
Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF), Malhotra said the RBI does not view fintech primarily as an industry that needs to be regulated, but as a strategic partner in leveraging the latest technology to improve financial services. The RBI Governor said the central bank remains committed to supporting the fintech industry as it evolves, while emphasising that growth must be accompanied by greater responsibility.
Malhotra cautioned fintech companies against building businesses around gaps between regulatory categories and seeking regulatory clarity only after scaling up. He said fintechs should not adopt a mindset of "structuring business around gaps between regulatory category, scaling first and seeking clarity later".
As fintech companies grow, their responsibilities also increase. Malhotra said operational resilience, business continuity and cybersecurity should not be treated as costs that need to be minimised.
"Financial institution must take systemic responsibility which scales with size," he said.
Many fintech companies may currently operate outside formal regulatory frameworks, but their responsibility rises as payment volumes, loan books and user bases expand. The RBI Governor also placed strong emphasis on responsible handling of financial and other data.
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He said financial data must be treated in the way a trustee treats assets belonging to a beneficiary — used strictly within the consent provided and protected as if it were one's own. The Account Aggregator framework was built around this principle, he said, urging fintech companies to view data as a fiduciary responsibility rather than merely an asset.
The comments come as fintech companies increasingly handle sensitive financial information across payments, lending, wealth management and other services. Malhotra said the industry must also mitigate risks related to opacity, exclusion and cybersecurity.
The RBI Governor stressed that technological speed alone will not determine the success of digital finance. "A financial system which moves at the speed of light but doesn't command trust won't see much takers," he said.
According to Malhotra, trust takes years to build but can be broken quickly. Fintech companies therefore need to make building and preserving trust a core part of their business models. This becomes particularly important as fintechs expand their role in credit, payments and financial inclusion, bringing more consumers into the formal financial system.
Malhotra said traditional lenders have historically struggled to extend small-ticket loans and financial services to segments such as women, MSMEs and farmers. Technology gives fintech companies an opportunity to address some of these gaps and contribute to wider financial inclusion.
"We need to make financial services space ubiquitous, omnipresent," he said. India has witnessed massive financial inclusion in recent years, with the transformation driven by a combination of public infrastructure and private-sector innovation.
The country currently has 57 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts, while 25 crore micro-insurance policies have been issued and 9 crore people are covered under the Atal Pension Yojana. India is also seeing around 80 crore UPI transactions, highlighting the scale at which digital payments have become embedded in everyday financial activity.
Malhotra highlighted India's growing position in the global fintech ecosystem. India's fintech ecosystem ranks third globally and received $2.4 billion in funding last year. The country is also home to 30 domestic unicorns, reflecting the rapid expansion of its technology-led financial services sector.
However, the RBI Governor said India's fintech success should not be measured only by the size of the numbers. The most remarkable aspect of India's transformation, he said, is that digital finance has become part of everyday life.
Malhotra also called for India to move beyond domestic adoption and export its financial products, infrastructure and approaches globally. He said India needs to develop common digital infrastructure, governance frameworks and approaches that can be shared more widely.
Solutions developed in India for financial inclusion and interoperability can potentially be adapted for wider global adoption, he said. This could allow India's fintech ecosystem to move from being primarily a domestic success story to becoming an exporter of digital financial infrastructure and solutions.
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