RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said fintech’s biggest promise lies in how widely its benefits can be felt across society

NEW DELHI: Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Thursday said India has an opportunity to become a trusted partner in shaping the future architecture of global finance, while highlighting the country’s expanding fintech ecosystem and the role of digital public infrastructure in financial services.Speaking at the Global FinTech Fest 2026 in Mumbai, Malhotra said the RBI was working on digital public infrastructure for next-generation financial services, including the Unified Lending Interface (ULI).He also announced that the RBI, along with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), would launch the tokenisation of corporate bonds later on Thursday.India’s fintech ecosystem ranks third globally and the country has 30 fintech unicorns, Malhotra said.He also stressed the importance of trust and responsible data handling as technology becomes more deeply integrated into financial services. “Fintech should treat data as a fiduciary responsibility and not as business assets,” he said.Malhotra also said the RBI had approved the United Fintech Forum as the second self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for the financial sector. The Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) was earlier recognised as an SRO.The governor had earlier addressed the inaugural session of the Global FinTech Fest 2026 on September 8, where he highlighted how fintech had transformed India’s financial system by expanding access to payments, savings and credit.He said digital platforms such as UPI, Aadhaar-enabled payment systems and the Jan Dhan ecosystem had helped take banking from branches to the hands of citizens, while fintech-led tools such as cash-flow based lending, account aggregators and ULI were helping improve credit access for micro, small and medium enterprises.Malhotra also highlighted the RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox and Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, saying the central bank had sought to encourage innovation while maintaining trust and financial stability.He had said that the RBI would continue supporting responsible innovation while working towards a financial system that is “safer, more trustworthy, inclusive, fair and efficient”.The remarks came as policymakers, regulators, financial institutions and fintech companies gathered for the Global FinTech Fest 2026, which is focused on the evolving role of technology in finance.