RBI set to launch United Lending Interface to simplify access to credit for underserved borrowers
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing to launch a new technology platform called the United Lending Interface (ULI) which aims to simplify access to credit for the country’s underbanked and financially excluded borrowers.
RBI prepares to launch United Lending Interface
Speaking at the Global Conference on Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies on Monday, RBI governor Shri Shaktikanta Das confirmed that a nationwide rollout of the ULI will take place “in due course”, with the platform expected to cater to “large unmet demand for credit across various sectors, particularly for agricultural and MSME borrowers”.
He says the platform, which has been engaged in a pilot since its inception last year, facilitates the “seamless flow of digital information, including even land records of various states from multiple data service providers to lenders”.
Supported by standardised APIs and a consent-based approach, the plug-and-play solution seeks to reduce the complexity of multiple technical integrations for lenders while simultaneously streamlining credit appraisal processes.
For borrowers, Das explains that the platform enables the “seamless delivery of credit [and] quicker turnaround time without requiring extensive documentation” by digitising both financial and non-financial data that “otherwise resided in disparate silos”.
The bank’s inception of the ULI builds on the continued growth of the country’s United Payments Interface (UPI), a retail payment system launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in April 2016.
In January this year, the corporation announced a partnership with Google Pay to expand the reach of the UPI beyond national boundaries. This was followed by an announcement in February that the system would be rolled out in France through payment services firm Lyra Network.
