Account Aggregator Could Solve Fintech’s Data Problem

Infosys cofounder and its former chairman Nandan Nilekani brought a phase of disruption  for digital India with the work on Aadhaar and the subsequent push from IndiaStack. Nilekani has now backed a new RBI initiative that could change the game for the fintech ecosystem in India in the form of account aggregator, Sahamati.

Nilekani explained the workings of an account aggregator focussed on fintech data and addressing the friction in accessing this data. The account aggregator framework addresses pain points and provides a digital platform for easy sharing and consumption of data between its partner entities, with user consent.

RBI has given six in-principle licenses to Account Aggregators, while other financial services regulators (FSRs) are providing the required regulatory support and guidance for the rollout. IndiaStack.org’s data empowerment and protection architecture (DEPA) enables the collection and use of personal data to improve access to financial, healthcare, and other socio-economically important services in real-time. DEPA also claims to preserve the safety, security and privacy of users.

Introduced at a closed user group meet in Mumbai, account aggregators will help individuals and small businesses share their digital financial data with third parties in a secure way and gives them greater control and visibility over how their data is being used.

Nandan Nilekani, former Chairman of UIDAI reportedly said, “If Indians can leverage their footprints to get better loans and other financial products, we will have taken a step towards true data empowerment. Thanks to AA and other digital infrastructure that we built, India will become a leader in empowering individuals and small businesses with their own data.”

Sahamati is the pilot organisation that will work to accelerate the adoption of the framework by building awareness on the new technology, as well as supporting implementation and integration through various workshops.

Sahamati’s website explains that an AA is ‘data-blind’ as the data is encrypted and can be processed only by the Financial Information User (FIU) for whom the data is intended. AA does not and cannot store any user data, Sahamati stresses, which limits the risk of leakage and misuse.

Update: 1st Sept, 1:00 PM

The earlier version of the headline had incorrectly mentioned ‘Sahamati as RBI backed entity’. The same has been rectified. Apologies for the error.

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