← Embedded Finance Index 2026

RBI

“How should India's central bank regulate a rapidly digitising financial system — from UPI and digital lending to embedded finance and Big Tech — while maintaining monetary stability and consumer protection?”

Founded1935
HQMumbai, India
IndustryBank / National
The story

The Reserve Bank of India is India's central bank, established in 1935 and owned by the Ministry of Finance. It is responsible for monetary policy, currency issuance, and regulation of the entire Indian banking and payments ecosystem. Over time, RBI expanded from traditional central banking into actively shaping digital financial infrastructure — co-founding NPCI, issuing Master Directions on digital lending, KYC, PPIs, and IT outsourcing. RBI is the regulator of embedded finance in India, not a participant buying embedded finance services; its primary embedded finance role is setting the rules under which all Indian fintechs, banks, and NBFCs operate.

Last 12 months
2025-06
2024-12
Product timeline
1935
Reserve Bank of India established under the Reserve Bank of India Act as India's central bank.· banking
2007
Payment and Settlement Systems Act enacted, giving RBI regulatory authority over payment systems.· banking
2008
RBI co-founded the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) with the Indian Banks' Association to promote and regulate payment and settlement systems.· banking
2020
RBI issued amendment to Master Direction on KYC processes approving Video Customer Identification Process (V-CIP) as an alternative to physical In-Person Verification.· banking
2021
RBI published report identifying Big Tech's growing presence in financial services as a policy concern regarding level playing fields and systemic risk.· banking
2023
Master Direction on Outsourcing of IT Services effective October 1, 2023 reshaped how regulated entities govern third-party technology providers.· banking
2025
RBI granted Wise in-principle approval to operate as a Payment Aggregator – Cross Border for exports, signaling ongoing regulatory framework expansion for cross-border payments.· banking
Regulated entities
1
regulatory licence held by RBI
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
Same company
RBI was analysed under more than one name on the same domain, so its stack is split across these dossiers. Each was analysed independently and may name providers the others do not.
Npci2 layers →
The stack
1 layer disclosed in RBI’s embedded-finance stack
KYC
signzy
Accounting gap: none