Sahamati Foundation: RBI-Recognised SRO for Account Aggregators
Why in the news
The Reserve Bank gave formal industry-led oversight to the Account Aggregator network by naming Sahamati Foundation as its self-regulatory body.
Key facts
- Recognised by: Reserve Bank of India.
- Recognised body: Sahamati Foundation, as the SRO for the Account Aggregator (AA) ecosystem.
- Mandate: set standards, promote best practice, address operational problems and strengthen compliance.
- Role: representative body for AA participants and a bridge among financial institutions, AAs and fintechs.
| AA network indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| Regulated entities connected | 1,120 |
| Operational AAs | 17 |
| Linked accounts | Over 294 million |
| Consent requests | Over 450 million |
| Monthly data-sharing transactions | Over 290 million |
About the AA framework
- A regulated, consent-based system for securely sharing financial data with authorised institutions.
- Principles: user consent, purpose limitation, time-bound access and data minimisation.
- Roles: FIP holds the data (bank, NBFC, mutual fund, insurer, pension fund); FIU uses it with consent (for a loan, insurance or investment advice); AA is the neutral entity that collects, encrypts and passes data on only with consent.
About an SRO
- A non-government body recognised by a regulator such as RBI, SEBI or IRDAI to set rules for and oversee its members; works under the regulator’s oversight.
- Functions: standards, operational issues, compliance, grievance redressal, best practice.
- Indian examples: FIMMDA (fixed income), FEDAI (foreign exchange dealers), MFIN (microfinance), NPCI (retail payments standard setter), and now Sahamati (AA).
Exam angle
- Which regulator recognised the SRO: RBI, not SEBI.
- Expand FIP, FIU, AA.
- Match each SRO with its sector.