An Inter-Regulatory Technical Group on FinTech (IRTG on FinTech) had been constituted under the aegis of the Financial Stability and Development Council - Sub Committee (FSDC-SC). The terms of reference (ToR) of IRTG on FinTech include discussion on issues relating to hybrid product/service falling under the regulatory ambit of different financial sector regulators for admission in Regulatory Sandbox (RS) and framing of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Inter-ope

The Reserve Bank of India has today released a Concept Note on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for India. The purpose behind the issue of this Concept Note is to create awareness about CBDCs in general and the planned features of the Digital Rupee (e₹), in particular. It explains the objectives, choices, benefits, and risks of issuing a CBDC in India. The Note also seeks to explain Reserve Bank’s approach towards introduction of the CBDC. The Concept Note also di

Based upon the feedback received from various stakeholders, and in order to foster continuous innovation in various areas pertaining to fintech as well as to provide testing platform to the different products/ services/ technology which fall under the domain of the Reserve Bank as indicated in para 6.1.3 of the Enabling Framework for Regulatory Sandbox, it is announced that the Fifth Cohort under Regulatory Sandbox will be theme neutral. Innovative products/ services/

The Reserve Bank had announced opening of the ‘On Tap’ application facility for the theme ‘Retail Payments’ under Regulatory Sandbox vide Press release dated October 08, 2021. 2. In this regard, it is informed that the below mentioned two entities have been selected for the ‘Test Phase’: Sl. No. Sandbox Entity Product Description 1 HDFC Bank (in partnership with Crunchfish AB1) The product ‘Offline Retail Payments’ provides capability for customer and merchants to be

Rural finance encompasses a range of financial services offered to rural customers, including farmers, at all income levels. In a country like India, rural credit is closely related to inclusive economic growth, as it caters to the requirements of agriculture and allied activities, ancillary industries, small businesses, etc. At present, the process for getting such finance requires customer to visit a bank branch in-person along with the proof of land ownership and o

In the Second Cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox (RS) with ‘Cross-Border Payments’ as its theme, eight entities commenced testing of their products which was communicated vide Press Release dated September 13, 2021. 2. The following four entities have completed the ‘Test Phase’. Sl. No. Sandbox Entity Description 1 Cashfree Payments India Private Limited The product extends a cross-border payment platform to facilitate the purchase of assets listed on foreign exchang

The Reserve Bank had announced the theme for the Fourth Cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox (RS) as ‘Prevention and Mitigation of Financial Frauds’ vide Press Release dated October 08, 2021. It now announces opening of application window for the Fourth Cohort to eligible entities. 2. The application for the Fourth Cohort may be submitted from June 15, 2022 to August 01, 2022. A scanned copy of the application together with enclosures (maximum size 10 MB), may be forwa

The Reserve Bank had announced opening of the Third Cohort under Regulatory Sandbox vide Press release dated September 13, 2021 for MSME Lending. The Reserve Bank received 22 applications of which eight entities have been selected for the ‘Test Phase’. The entities, as per details below, shall commence testing of their products in June 2022. Sl. No. Sandbox Entity Description 1 FinAGG Technologies Private Limited The product ‘Quick Cash Flow’ is a cash flow based digi

The Reserve Bank had launched its first global hackathon - “HARBINGER 2021 – Innovation for Transformation” with the theme ‘Smarter Digital Payments’ which was communicated vide Press Release dated November 09, 2021. The hackathon received encouraging response with 363 proposals submitted by teams from within India and from 22 other countries including the USA, UK, Sweden, Singapore, Philippines, and Israel. The Hackathon ran in three phases with shortlisting of propo

The Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shri Shaktikanta Das inaugurated the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) today (March 24, 2022) in Bengaluru. The RBI has set up the RBIH as a Section 8 company under Companies Act, 2013, with an initial capital contribution of ₹100 crore to encourage and nurture financial innovation in a sustainable manner through an institutional set-up. The Hub has an independent Board with Shri Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan as the Chairm