Mumbai: Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (Face), a body of digital lenders on Thursday said it has applied to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to take on the role of a self-regulatory organization (SRO) in the digital lending industry.
Face member companies cater to more than half of the consumer lending market volumes in India. The organization said it has been working closely with regulators, official stakeholders, industry players, and other consumer groups to address the need for proactive consumer empowerment, including financial literacy, consumer protection and the challenge of working with regulators in dealing with fringe elements that hurt consumer trust in the system.
Self-regulatory organizations are non-governmental organizations that set and enforce rules and standards relating to the conduct of entities in their respective segments. Face’s application comes on the back of RBI seeking suggestions from industry groups to enforce regulations for digital lending platforms in the country, in an effort to curb illegal lending apps. According to RBI, an SRO in the industry will be the most suited entity to regulate the ecosystem that will help in establishing good practices among the digital lenders and prevent fraud and exploitation of consumers while ensuring steady growth of the overall sector.
“We, at Face, intend to work with the RBI and all official stakeholders to promote responsible lending, which will uphold ethical lending practices, data security, cyber security, consumer privacy and to weed out predatory lenders. With our expertise and collective addressable market, we believe Face is well prepared to take on the task of a formal self-regulatory body, that can promote and refine practices and streamline the sector, with guidance from the RBI,” said Ram Rastogi, member of governance council at Face and a digital payments strategist.
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