The Reserve Bank of India has announced a plan to enable interoperability among Account Aggregators, allowing customers to securely access and share financial information held by various institutions through any Account Aggregator of their choice, eliminating the need to onboard multiple platforms.
- Single onboarding across Account Aggregators for customers
- Access financial data from multiple institutions seamlessly
- Implementation targeted by December 31, 2026
What happened
The Reserve Bank of India has unveiled a policy to enable interoperability among Account Aggregators (AAs) operating in the country. This initiative mandates that customers only need to onboard once with any AA to access and share their financial information stored with various Financial Information Providers (FIPs) such as banks and mutual fund companies. Previously, customers often had to sign up on multiple AA platforms depending on the partnerships between providers.
The move aims to resolve existing operational and compliance challenges that prevented FIPs from integrating with all available AAs. By standardizing common technical protocols and APIs, the RBI is ensuring a seamless transfer and sharing of financial data across trusted AA entities. This interoperability is planned to be in effect by December 31, 2026.
Why it matters
The RBI's move to make Account Aggregators interoperable simplifies the customer journey when applying for financial products like loans and credit cards. Consumers will no longer face the inconvenience of creating multiple accounts on different AA platforms to facilitate data sharing with financial institutions. This reduces friction and enhances user experience in fintech and banking sectors.
Moreover, the policy encourages broader participation by Financial Information Providers in the AA ecosystem, fostering more comprehensive data availability and better credit assessment. The interoperability framework thus supports financial inclusion and efficient risk management by lenders while maintaining strict consent-based data sharing principles.
What to watch next
Market participants and fintech operators should monitor how the standardized interoperability framework will be implemented technically and operationally, particularly regarding data privacy, consent management, and whether existing accounts and consents will be transferable across AAs. The RBI has yet to clarify if users’ existing consent records on one AA will carry over to another under this new framework.
Additionally, attention will focus on the release of further details about the RBI's tech policy committee’s composition and remit, which has been delayed. Its guidance will be important for ongoing enhancements to the regulatory framework that governs data sharing and innovation within India’s digital financial services landscape.