Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has officially launched the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), a groundbreaking initiative expected to revolutionize the lending sector much like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) did for digital payments.

Governor Das introduced the ULI at the Global Conference on “Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies,” highlighting its potential to significantly enhance credit delivery across India. He described ULI as a key component of India’s evolving digital infrastructure, referring to it as part of the “new trinity” of JAM-UPI-ULI.

Initially piloted by the RBI last year, ULI aims to streamline the credit process by enabling seamless, consent-based digital information flow from various data providers, including land records, directly to lenders. This innovation is particularly beneficial for small and rural borrowers, as it drastically reduces the time needed for credit appraisals.

Das emphasized that ULI’s architecture leverages standardised APIs, allowing for a ‘plug and play’ approach that simplifies access to diverse information sources. This, in turn, accelerates loan delivery and reduces the need for extensive documentation, making credit more accessible and efficient.

By digitizing fragmented financial and non-financial data, ULI aims to meet the significant demand for credit among rural and MSME borrowers, ultimately driving economic growth.

In addition, Governor Das touched on the RBI’s cautious approach to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), stressing the importance of understanding its broader impacts before a full-scale rollout. The ongoing pilots in retail and wholesale segments, involving over 5 million users and 16 banks, are testing the CBDC’s potential, particularly its offline and programmability features, which could play a crucial role in financial inclusion.

The launch of ULI, along with advances in CBDC, marks a significant leap forward in India’s digital financial infrastructure, poised to reshape the future of lending and payments in the country.