The Reserve Bank of India has permitted inter-operability among different Account Aggregators to enhance financial data sharing capabilities. According to reports from The Economic Times, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced this decision during the bi-monthly policy announcement, marking a significant development in India's digital financial infrastructure. The central bank made the announcement as part of its developmental and regulatory measures unveiled alongside its monetary policy decision. The RBI has also decided to constitute a Technical Consultative Committee for Financial Markets to provide structured engagement with market participants on policy matters relating to money, government securities and foreign exchange markets. As per the latest reports, these announcements came alongside the Monetary Policy Committee's decision to raise the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% and shift its stance from 'Neutral' to 'Calibrated Tightening'. The interoperability framework addresses the challenge of information fragmentation across about 15 account aggregators, as noted by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, making it easier for individuals, insurers, asset managers and investment advisers to access and share financial information with customer consent.
The new policy allows various Account Aggregators to collaborate and work with each other, improving the connection for consumers sharing financial information. As reported by The Economic Times, consumers can now share bank statements, mutual fund details, insurance records, and fixed deposit information with institutions using their consent. This interoperability framework enables seamless data sharing between different financial service providers, potentially reducing friction in the financial ecosystem. The RBI's latest announcement specifically states that customers can now access and share their financial information across different Financial Information Providers through any NBFC-AA of their choice, allowing aggregation of financial information through a single account aggregator instead of using multiple platforms. According to The Times of India, interoperability will allow customers to use any account aggregator to access and share financial information held across different banks and other financial-information providers, with the initiative being called an "important step" in strengthening India's digital credit infrastructure. The move is particularly beneficial for survivors of deceased account holders to discover their financial assets and reduce the number of unclaimed deposits. As per Mint, BG Mahesh, CEO of Sahamati, noted that "Interoperability removes that connectivity barrier, allowing customers to use their chosen AA and service providers to serve them without requiring another AA registration."
The RBI has announced significant enhancements to the Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) framework to provide consumers with a comprehensive view of their financial holdings. According to Mint, the expanded CAS will include bank deposits alongside existing investments such as mutual funds, equity shares, bonds and government securities linked to an investor's Permanent Account Number (PAN). RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra explained that the monthly statement would allow consumers to see all their holdings at a glance, with the addition of deposits filling a missing piece in the financial picture. The current CAS, issued by depositories regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), brings together investments such as mutual funds, equity shares, bonds and government securities, but does not currently provide a consolidated view of bank deposits. As per Mint, BG Mahesh, CEO of Sahamati, emphasized that "Adding bank deposit information to the Consolidated Account Statement will give customers a fuller picture of their finances in one place." The expanded CAS will come into effect from January 1, 2027, as announced by the RBI. According to Business Standard, Venkatesh Krishnamoorti, founder of SAAFE, noted that "The basis being all investments is sought to be consolidated in one dashboard for the customer. Savings accounts are high velocity accounts and technically not considered as investment." This means savings accounts will not automatically appear in the CAS in the same way as investment products, with fixed deposits (FDs) and recurring deposits (RDs) expected to be covered under the new framework.
Account Aggregators are digital platforms that allow people to share their financial information including bank account statements, mutual fund holdings, insurance details and other financial records with financial institutions. According to Business Standard, these platforms operate under strict consent-based mechanisms, ensuring that data sharing occurs only with explicit customer authorization. The interoperability framework builds upon this existing consent-based model to create a more integrated financial data sharing ecosystem. As per Mint, an account aggregator is a regulated financial technology platform that enables the secure sharing of digital financial customer data between institutions with explicit permission. Such platforms do not store, read, or process customer data, but only transfer encrypted information between financial information providers (banks) to financial information users (lenders). The new framework gives customers greater flexibility by allowing them to choose their preferred account aggregator, moving away from the previous model where customers' access to financial data was often linked to specific account aggregators integrated with their banks or financial institutions. For lenders, this provides a faster view of income, cash flows and liabilities for credit assessment, while for personal-finance apps, it brings fragmented financial information into one dashboard. Venkatesh Krishnamoorti, founder of SAAFE Account Aggregator, noted that a major obstacle to the AA ecosystem's growth had been the lack of interoperability, which forced customers to create multiple accounts with different AAs to access and share their financial data.
Both the expanded CAS and account aggregator interoperability measures are scheduled for implementation by December 31, 2026, as announced by the RBI. According to Mint, most banks have already been onboarded on the framework, with the remaining financial institutions joining over time. The AA ecosystem has experienced significant growth, with 17 AAs currently holding RBI operating licenses and actively serving the market. As of August, 338.04 million accounts were linked through the framework, representing a substantial increase from 272.46 million accounts in February. During August alone, 11.72 million accounts were linked and 27.94 million new consents were fulfilled, with the cumulative number of consents reaching 566.26 million as of August. AAs delivered 352.48 million data sets on linked accounts during August, the highest monthly level between February and August, compared to 265.67 million data sets in February. BG Mahesh, CEO of Sahamati, noted that "The AA ecosystem has already crossed 500 million fulfilled consents and enabled the delivery of over 7.4 crore financial services across lending, capital markets and insurance in FY26." Industry experts suggest that the changes should, over time, improve the availability and quality of credit, reduce turnaround times and potentially allow lenders to price risk more accurately. Varoon Naidu, co-founder of Capital Stack, added that "The real impact, however, will depend on how seamlessly interoperability is implemented across account aggregators, lenders, and financial information providers."
