MUMBAI: Keeping up with the pace of rapid changes in the fintech sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stepped up its interaction with the fintech companies. The banking regulator has held over 200 meetings with the fintech companies and industry representatives in the past six months.
“The RBI keeps receiving feedback from stakeholders of the fintech sector. The meetings were held with fintech companies and with industry associations,” said a person who attended these meetings.
There is a mechanism of continuous engagement with fintechs through online and offline meeting at department level, added the person. Going ahead, the central bank will start holding monthly meetings with the representatives of fintech sector.
RBI’s decision to hold the meeting has come after several fintech firms, in a meeting with the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, raised the need of having regular interactions with the banking regulator.
The meeting with the finance minister was held to soothe nerves of fintech sector after the RBI crackdown on Paytm Payments Bank. RBI had barred Paytm Payments Bank from accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer account, prepaid instruments, wallets and FASTags in the wake of persistent non-compliance and other supervisory concerns.
After RBI’s action, the fintech firms were worried that the central bank may impose harsher norms on them. To seek more clarity, representatives of the fintech sector requested for a meeting with policy makers.
There are around 10,000 fintech companies in the country offering several financial services to the customers.
“RBI keeps meeting with fintech firms and we have not faced any problem. Whenever we have requested for a meeting we have got the appointment with the central bank officials,” a senior official of a fintech company told FE. “A monthly meeting with RBI is very much required because it will help fintech companies to get clarity on various issues,” he added.
Representatives of fintech companies say that the central bank keeps issuing circular and notifications regularly and sometimes it is difficult to understand some points mentioned which creates confusion among companies. The monthly meeting will be good platform to clear doubts related to circulars and notifications.
Source: The Financial Express
