Archive · 10 Sep 2026
RBI Governor Urges Fintechs to Protect Customer Data and Trust
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said fintech firms must treat personal information as a fiduciary responsibility, not a commercial asset.
Malhotra said trust is essential to the growth of India’s digital financial ecosystem as technology becomes more integrated into finance.
India ranks third globally in fintech and is home to 30 unicorns, according to Malhotra.
The RBI and SEBI were set to launch corporate-bond tokenisation, while the RBI approved United Fintech Forum as the sector’s second self-regulatory organisation.
United Fintech Forum joins the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment, which was previously recognised as a fintech self-regulatory organisation.],
eli5_summary string (8-10 sentences)
- Who
- RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, the RBI, SEBI and fintech companies.
- What
- Malhotra called for responsible customer-data practices and announced corporate-bond tokenisation and a new fintech self-regulatory organisation.
- When
- Thursday, during the Global Fintech Fest 2026.
- Where
- At the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in India.
- Why
- Because fintech is expanding rapidly and stronger safeguards are needed to protect trust, data and market conduct.
Stronger Data Responsibility
Fintech Innovation and Growth
Use of customer data
Stronger Data Responsibility
Fintech companies should handle personal information responsibly and treat it as a fiduciary responsibility, with customer trust at the centre.
Fintech Innovation and Growth
Fintech firms increasingly rely on customer information to deliver lending, payments, investment and other financial services.
Industry oversight
Stronger Data Responsibility
Self-regulatory organisations can strengthen industry-level governance and encourage responsible practices alongside regulatory oversight.
Fintech Innovation and Growth
The fintech sector is expanding rapidly, creating a need to accommodate technology-driven innovation and new financial infrastructure.
- Speaker
- RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra
- Event
- Global Fintech Fest 2026
- India’s fintech position
- India ranks third globally and has 30 unicorns, according to Malhotra.
- Data principle
- Customer information should be treated as a fiduciary responsibility rather than a commercial asset.
- Corporate bonds
- The RBI and SEBI were set to launch corporate-bond tokenisation on Thursday.
- New self-regulatory organisation
- The RBI approved United Fintech Forum as the financial sector’s second self-regulatory organisation.
- Existing self-regulatory organisation
- The Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment was previously recognised by the RBI.