Fintech major PhonePe announced the launch of its account aggregator (AA) services through its wholly-owned subsidiary PhonePe Technology Services Pvt Ltd (PTSPL), which will allow its Indian consumers to consent to and share all their financial data, such as bank statements, with regulated Financial Institutions.
The financial data such as bank statements, insurance policies, and tax filings when shared with financial institutions will help consumers in applying for loans, buying new insurance, or getting investment advice.
Data control
"This will also empower users to access and control their own financial data, revolutionizing the way they engage with financial services. The Account Aggregator Network sets the stage for a new era of digital connectivity, where individuals can harness the power of their own information to make informed financial decisions and unlock a world of opportunities," said Rahul Chari, Co-Founder and CTO at PhonePe in a media statement.
Consumers can request, pause, or revoke any ongoing data consent directly from PhonePe website or from PhonePe app itself, the firm said in the statement on Tuesday.
As a part of the launch, PhonePe's PTSPL has already integrated with Financial Information Providers (FIP) such as YES Bank, Federal Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, etc. Several other FIPs, including large banks, are likely to get integrated before the end of June.
On August 26, digital payments fintech PhonePe announced that it has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an AA.
A few days before that, fintech startup Setu unveiled a sandbox for AAs. The AA framework was released by the RBI back in 2016. The account aggregator facilitates sharing of financial information in a real-time and data-blind manner between regulated entities.
AAs are licensed entities by the RBI to enable the flow of data between Financial Information Providers (FIPs) and Financial Information Users (FIUs). FIPs are institutions which hold customer data and FIUs are entities which consume data to offer better service, underwrite loans, etc. Here, going forward FIPs can be FIUs too.
PhonePe has also launched its product suite and APIs for the FIU market, and is in the process of integrating with regulated Financial Institutions (FIUs) so that they can start taking consent from their users to do a real-time data fetch from the user’s’ FIPs.
"To give consumers a quick and easy introduction to the new Account Aggregator service, PTSPL has tied up with PhonePe Pvt Ltd, and built an AA micro-app within the PhonePe consumer app," the firm said in the statement.
This will basically allow PhonePe users to register and create a new interoperable AA handle. PhonePe users will also be able to access their bank statements instantly on the 'Check Balance' option on the PhonePe App’s homepage for free.
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