RBI releases fulllist of legal digital lending apps on its site

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has published a comprehensive list of legal digital lending apps (DLAs) on its website, allowing consumers to verify whether a particular app is associated with a regulated entity. The list, which features around 1,600 DLAs, includes prominent fintech platforms such as Google Pay, BharatPe, Axio, LendingKart, Navi, Paytm and PhonePe.

The move follows the RBI’s 2023 digital lending guidelines, which proposed the public display of all verified DLAs to promote greater transparency in the sector.

In May, the central bank directed all regulated entities to report their DLAs through the centralised information management system portal. The published list will be updated automatically based on entries in the portal, without further validation by the RBI.

The initiative is aimed at enhancing transparency in digital lending practices, in how loan products are offered and disclosed to prospective borrowers. In a bid to curb spread of illegal lending apps, the finance ministry had in September 2022 proposed the RBI compile a whitelist of legitimate DLAs, while ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) would ensure only these apps are allowed on app stores.