RBI issues Consolidated Guidelines on Digital Lending [PDF]

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a new set of rules called the RBI (Digital Lending) Directions, 2025, which bring together all previous guidelines and circulars on digital lending issued to Regulated Entities (REs). This step aims to simplify and streamline regulations in the growing field of digital lending.

Key Additions in the New Guidelines

For the first time, the new directions also include two important updates:

1. Transparency in Loan Product Aggregation

The RBI has introduced rules to ensure transparency when loan products from multiple lenders are displayed together on digital lending platforms. A draft circular about this was released on April 26, 2024, inviting public comments. Based on the feedback received, the final rules have now been included in the 2025 Directions.

2. Launch of Public Directory of Digital Lending Apps (DLAs)

As announced in the RBI’s policy statement dated August 8, 2024, a Public Directory of DLAs is now being set up. The goal is to help consumers identify whether a particular lending app is officially linked to a registered Regulated Entity (RE).

• REs must submit their DLA details through the Centralised Information Management System (CIMS) portal of the RBI.
• The CIMS portal will be open for submissions by May 13, 2025, and REs must upload all relevant data by June 15, 2025.
• The official list of DLAs will be made available to the public by July 1, 2025, through the RBI’s website (Home > Citizen’s Corner > DLAs Deployed by Regulated Entities).

Important Notes

• The DLA directory is for public reference only, allowing customers to verify if a digital lending app is linked to a registered lender.
• The list will be based entirely on data submitted by the REs. The RBI will not conduct any further checks or validations of this information.
• The directory will update automatically as REs add or remove apps from their records.

Download Circular PDF