RBI to launch Unified Lending Interface to transform lending sector: Governor Das

Says it enables borrowers to get the benefit of seamless delivery of credit, quicker turnaround time without requiring extensive documentation

Vijay C Roy

Updated At : 03:13 PM Aug 26, 2024 IST

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das addresses the inaugural session of ‘Global Conference on DPI and Emerging Technologies’, in Bengaluru on August 26, 2024. Video grab via PTI Videos/PTI

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh/New Delhi, August 26

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday said the central bank is set to launch Unified Lending Interface (ULI) nationwide soon as it expects this platform to transform the lending sector in India, just like the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) has transformed the payments ecosystem. It enables borrowers to get the benefit of seamless delivery of credit, quicker turnaround time without requiring extensive documentation, Das added.

In a keynote address at the 'Global Conference on Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies', a part of RBI@90 initiative in Bengaluru, Das said, “Continuing on this journey of digitalisation of banking services, last year we launched the pilot of a technology platform which enables frictionless credit. From now on, we propose to call it the Unified Lending Interface (ULI). This platform facilitates seamless and consent based flow of digital information, including even land records of various states, from multiple data service providers to lenders.”

“This cuts down the time taken for credit appraisal, especially for smaller and rural borrowers,” he added.

“The ULI architecture has common and standardised APIs, designed for a ‘plug and play’ approach to ensure digital access to information from diverse sources. This reduces the complexity of multiple technical integrations.

“It enables borrowers to get the benefit of seamless delivery of credit, quicker turnaround time without requiring extensive documentation. In sum, by digitising access to customer’s financial and non-financial data that otherwise resided in disparate silos, ULI is expected to cater to large unmet demand for credit across various sectors, particularly for agricultural and MSME borrowers,” he said.

The RBI Governor added, “Based on our experience from the pilot project, a nation-wide launch of the ULI will be done in due course. Just like UPI transformed the payments ecosystem, we expect that ULI will play a similar role in transforming the lending space in India.”