RBI guv Das announces new tech platform Unified Lending Interface to provide 'friction-less' credit

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das

Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das on August 26 said the central bank is running a pilot of Unified Lending Interface or ULI, a technological platform that aims to provide a friction-less credit by cutting down the time taken for appraisal, especially for rural and smaller borrowers.

ULI is expected to cater to a large unmet demand for credit across various sectors, particularly for agricultural and MSME borrowers, the governor said, adding that a nationwide launch will take place soon.

"Just like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) changed the payments ecosystem, similarly we expect ULI to transform the lending landscape," the governor said.

This is part of the central bank’s digitalisation of banking services, Das added.

“Unified Lending Interface facilitates seamless flow of digital information, including even land records from multiple data providers to lenders. It cuts down time taken for credit appraisal, especially for rural and smaller borrowers and its architecture is designed for a plug and play approach to enable quicker access to information from diverse sources. That is the information relevant to a  lender for giving out a loan to a potential borrower,” the governor said.

Das was addressing the Global Conference on DPI and Emerging Technologies in Bengaluru.

"The new platform is also based on consent of potential borrowers and data privacy fully is protected."

It also reduces the complexity of multiple technical integrations. It enables the borrowers to get seamless delivery of credit, quicker turnaround time without much documentation, Das said.

The reserve bank governor also said earlier the policymakers had a trinity of Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile, or JAM, and now it is proposing a new trinity.

“New trinity -- JAM, UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and ULI, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to be rolled out gradually, is a revolutionary step in India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) journey.”

Das further said that the two main DPI focus areas for the central bank are ULI and CBDC. It is also working on merging UPI and CBDC to streamline payments and further boost financial inclusion, he said, adding that both ULI and CBDC will be interoperable.

Moreover, Das informed that India is the lead chair of global partnership for AI in 2024, ties with 29 countries to support cutting edge research.