Page 11 - Banking Finance November 2017

RBI CORNER

RESERVE BANK

NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
NEWS

Reserve Bank to launch financial literacy drive in Nine RBI asks bank not to
states turn away senior citizens

Reserve Bank of India is soon going to launch a financial literacy drive in 80 blocks from branches
in 9 states on a pilot basis to educate people on e-
transactions, formal sector borrowings and insurance Reserve Bank has said that banks
purchases. should remain
sensitive to re-
6 NGOs registered with the Depositor Education and quirements of
Awareness Fund - CRISIL Foundation, Dhan Founda- senior citizens as
tion, Swadhaar Fin Access, Indian School of Micro Fi- well as differ-
nance for Women (ISMW), Samarpit and the PACE Foundation - have been se- ently-abled persons and should
lected to execute the pilot project in collaboration with banks. not turn them away from branches
in order to promote digital transac-
RBI to classify peer-to-peer lending firms as NBFCs tions.

Reserve Bank of India has said that all non-bank players engaged in the business A set of instructions will be issued by
of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending would be clas- the RBI by this month end. It has
sified as Non-banking financial companies been reported that banks are discour-
(NBFCs). aging or turning away senior citizens
RBI said in a gazette notification, "For the and differently-abled persons from
purpose of this notification, the term 'the availing banking facilities in branches.
business of a peer to peer lending platform' "Notwithstanding the need to push
shall mean the business of providing under a contract, the service of loan facili- digital transactions and use of ATMs,
tation, via online medium or otherwise, to the participants who have entered it is imperative to be sensitive to the
into an arrangement with that platform to lend on it or to avail of loan facilita- requirements of senior citizens and
tion services provided by it." differently-abled persons.
A P2P lender is typically a fintech platform which helps lenders and prospective "It has been decided to instruct
borrowers get in touch with each other. In India, three broad categories of banks to put in place explicit mecha-
fintech lenders operate - those who connect individual lenders to borrowers, nisms for meeting the needs of such
those who help institutional lenders identify suitable borrowers for their prod- persons so that they do not feel
ucts, and those who disburse loans off their own books. marginalised," it said. Ombudsmen
will also be advised to pay heed to
The third category of lenders already qualify as NBFCs. Notification will apply to
lenders belonging to the first category, industry players said. complaints in this context, it said.

BANKING FINANCE | NOVEMBER | 2017 | 11

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