The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday set up a panel to study various issues concerning digital banking and financial technology in the country.
The move follows a decision in April of a sub-committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council, a group of various financial regulators, to set up a group to examine fintech’s implications so as to review the regulatory framework, the central bank said in a statement.
The setting up of the panel comes even as India has, in the past few years, seen several digital financial tools like mobile wallets become mainstream. The RBI has been keeping a watch on the developments and in April proposed rules to regulate online peer-to-peer lending.
Besides scoping the recent innovations in the fintech sector, the panel will assess opportunities and risks arising for the financial system from digitisation and how these can be used to optimise financial product innovation and delivery.
It has also been tasked to take stock of how regulators across the world have responded to the advent of new technology in the fintech space and recommend how regulations in India should be re-oriented to accommodate such technologies.
The 13-member panel will be headed by RBI executive director Sudarshan Sen and comprises officials from the capital markets, insurance and pension regulatory bodies. Other members include officials from the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology, the National Payments Corp. of India, HDFC Bank and credit rating firm Crisil.
Like this report? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our top reports.