Future Finance

Some potentially transformative innovations are being implemented in the financial sector with the extensive use of technology. These changes can increase the reach of financial products and power the country’s journey

- ANAND ADHIKARI

YOU MAY HAVE heard of mortgages or loans against gold, but what do you think of getting a pre-approved loan against mutual fund units straight from your app? Now picture this: insurance companies accessing your data—with your consent, of course—from pathology labs and hospitals for insurance purposes, all without any paperwork!

This has all been brought into the realm of possibility through the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Account Aggregator (AA) model. Think of these as arteries that allow for the smooth flow of encrypted personal information through to financial entities throughout the country.

But India’s financial sector isn’t willing to take it easy just yet. There’s another innovation that promises to be a game changer: the extension of credit through the ubiquitous Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which could serve the unbanked and underbanked. In metro areas, this could replace costly credit cards and point of sale (PoS) infrastructure.

These and other innovations that are backed by RBI are bringing about the latest transformation in India’s dynamic financial services industry. In the next decade or two, the financial landscape, the lifeblood of an economy, could change beyond anybody’s expectations. And this will accelerate India’s journey to becoming a developed nation, or Viksit Bharat, by 2047.

THE AA CHIP

The AA model works like this: the platform collects financial data of customers, with their consent, from banks and makes it accessible to other financial institutions. So, banks can share customer information with other banks and non-bank players like insurance firms and mutual funds. This allows customers to access competitive loan, insurance, and investment offers without having to submit details every time.