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Informist, Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Digital finance at scale must now rely on a "confidence architecture" that can reliably and accountably cater to the diverse needs of customers, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Swaminathan J. said. Financial inclusion must go beyond access to ensure that customers are capable of operating this infrastructure with independence and convenience, he said. 

 

"The discussions here highlighted a central point: the next phase of digital credit must be not only fast, but fair, transparent, and affordable," Swaminathan said at the CAB–NIBM International Conference on Digitalisation for Inclusive Finance and Sustainability Friday.

 

The four key elements of the new-age digital finance ecosystem must be security and resilience, effective redress for customers, data discipline and meaningful consent, and finally, inclusion with dignity, the RBI deputy governor said. This must be accompanied with strong governance and safeguards, especially when making use of digital public infrastructure.

 

"When core rails are resilient, widely usable, and interoperable, they reduce the cost of reaching the last mile and allow providers to compete on service quality rather than on customer lock-in," Swaminathan said. "They also make it easier to deliver targeted support at scale, whether through faster benefit transfers, smoother onboarding, or quicker delivery of small-value financial services."

 

Firms in the digital finance ecosystem must build for outcomes and not just focus on optics for increased adoption, the regulator said, enumerating the forward-looking priorities for the sector. Firms must design for the last user through simple interfaces and low data use, as well as transparent grievance pathways. Fairness is essential even as innovation is welcome, the RBI deputy governor said. Resilience must also be a design requirement as cybersecurity threats increase with scale, he said. 

 

"Fifth, collaborate, because no one actor can solve this alone," Swaminathan said. "Progress requires collaboration across regulators, financial institutions, fintechs, researchers, and civil society."  End

 

Reported by Aaryan Khanna

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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