RBI announces new lending interface to help small borrowers

The Reserve Bank of India has introduced a technological platform called Unified Lending Interface (ULI) to speed up the disbursal of credit, especially to rural and smaller borrowers.

“ULI is expected to cater to large unmet demand of credit for various sectors for agriculture and MSME borrowers,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday. "This platform facilitates a seamless flow of digital information, including land records of various states, from multiple data service providers to lenders. This cuts down the time taken for credit appraisals, especially for smaller and rural borrowers.”

ULI launch shortly

Mr Das said the nationwide launch of the platform will take place soon.

The RBI had started a pilot programme in the form of a public tech platform last year to ease access to credit. It was aimed at providing digital information to lenders to facilitate credit or loans in just a few minutes.

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

This is part of the central bank’s digitalisation of banking services, Das said while addressing the Global Conference on Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies in Bengaluru. "The new platform is also based on consent of potential borrowers and data privacy fully is protected."

New trinity of JAM, UPI and ULI

Das said that earlier there was the trinity of Jan Dhan Accounts, Aadhaar and Mobile Phones, or JAM, and now it is proposing a new trinity.

“New trinity -- JAM, UPI and ULI, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to be rolled out gradually, is a revolutionary step in India’s Digital Public Infrastructure journey,” he said. “This initiative reduces the complexity of multiple technical integrations, enables borrowers to get the benefit of seamless delivery of credit, quicker turnaround time without requiring extensive documentation,” he added.

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