RBI to set up innovation hub for finance sector

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in the process of setting up an innovation hub which will focus on future technology in the financial services space, an RBI official said on Monday.

Detailed guidelines in this respect are expected to be released soon.

"Innovation Hub is one of the things that we are trying out where we are looking at actually creating ideation, creating ideas to evolve technologies... RBI is in the process of setting up an Innovation Hub," RBI executive director T Rabi Sankar said while virtually participating in a conference organised by FICCI.

More details will come out once it is finalised, he added.

"We would expect technology firms, financial entities, academic entities, even funding agencies, all of them to interact on this hub and start the entire process from ideation to creation to piloting of solutions," he said.

Sankar also said the RBI has released a framework for setting up umbrella entities for operating pan-India retail payments systems.

It has invited applications from eligible companies by February 26, 2021.

As per the framework, the companies with a net worth of over Rs 500 crore will be eligible to set up an umbrella entity which among other things will be permitted to set up, manage and operate new payment systems in the retail space comprising ATMs, White Label PoS, Aadhaar-based payments and remittance services.

Among other things, the umbrella entity will be permitted to operate clearing and settlement systems for banks and non-banks; identify and manage relevant risks such as settlement, credit, liquidity and operational; and preserve the integrity of the system.