India’s technology platform for “frictionless credit”, the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), launched by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last year as a pilot project will be introduced nationwide soon, said Shaktikanta Das, Governor of RBI, on Monday.
The platform will allow the transfer of credit to small and rural borrowers, catering to the large demand across various sectors, especially agricultural and small companies.
Facilitating digital information’s flow
India’s Unified Lending Interface, which will soon launch, will cut the time for credit appraisal for borrowers and facilitate a consent-based flow of digital information, Das explained at the Global Conference on Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies in Bengaluru.
“Just like UPI (Unified Payments Interface – India’s instant payment system) transformed the payments ecosystem, we expect that ULI will play a similar role in transforming the lending space in India,” stated Das. The governor added the new platform aims to ensure digital access to information from diverse sources.
Read: South Korea’s foreign currency deposits rise for 2nd straight month in July to 94.44 billion
Credit appraisal time to go down
The new platform facilitates a seamless and consent-based flow of digital information, including even land records of various states, from multiple data service providers to lenders. The Unified Lending Interface that India introduced last year as a pilot project cuts down the time for credit appraisal, especially for small and rural borrowers. It was also part of the central bank’s efforts to digitalize banking services, which has made India one of the fastest-growing digital payments markets globally.
“This reduces the complexity of multiple technical integrations. It enables borrowers to get the benefit of seamless delivery of credit, and quicker turnaround time without requiring extensive documentation,” the RBI governor said.
Speaking about the success of UPI, Das added: “The current ecosystem of digital payments in India offers a bouquet of simple, safe, and secure options for instant or quick transfer of funds, both large and small value, for businesses and individuals.”
For more news on banking & finance, click here.
