Don’t treat data as fiduciary responsibility: RBI Governor to Fintech Companies
Mumbai, Sep 10: Fintech companies should “treat data as a fiduciary responsibility, not as a business asset,” RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra today said.
“This data must be treated the way a trustee treats assets and property, collected with a clear purpose and used strictly within the consent provided, and protected as though it was a human,” he said, addressing the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 here.
Delivering his keynote address on ‘Shaping the Next Decade of Finance: Technology, Trust and Innovation’, Malhotra added that when a “fintech company’s lending book or user base grows to a poin’t where its disruption could meaningfully affect the financial system, the firm has a responsibility to protect data.”
He underscored the importance of operational resilience, business continuity, and cyber security, for a fintech company that has achieved scale.
Talking about inclusion, the RBI Governor said, “57 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts, over 85 crore micro-insurance policies represent the impact of the fastest transformation in financial behaviour witnessed anywhere in the world”.
He added, “Today, a street vendor displaying a QR code to receive payments is a common sight” and described it as “a simple but very powerful example” of the scale of inclusion achieved in just a few years.
“It has happened because of the public-private partnership which has facilitated entrepreneurship and innovation while maintaining public trust and preserving confidence,” he said, commending innovators and entrepreneurs who were present at his session.
On India’s global standing, the RBI Governor struck an optimistic note, pointing to the country’s fintech ecosystem as the third largest globally.
“India’s first decade of fintech was largely about building for India. The next decade presents an opportunity to build for the world, in India,” he said, adding that solutions developed for financial inclusion, affordable payments and digital identity could be adapted for wider global adoption. (BVI)
