The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased its engagement with fintech startups in order to keep up with the industry's rapid advancements. In the last six months, the banking regulator has met with representatives from the fintech industry and companies over 200 times.

The RBI continues to receive input from fintech industry participants. An attendee of the meetings stated that they were held with industry associations and fintech companies.

The person noted that there is a department-level structure for ongoing engagement with fintechs through online and offline meetings. The central bank will now begin hosting monthly talks with representatives from the fintech industry.

The RBI decided to have the meeting after a number of fintech companies brought up the necessity of communicating often with the banking regulator at a meeting with Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of finance.

The purpose of the discussion with the finance minister was to allay the fears of the fintech industry following the RBI's attack on Paytm Payments Bank. Following chronic non-compliance and other supervisory concerns, RBI had prohibited Paytm Payments Bank from receiving deposits or top-ups in any customer account, prepaid instruments, wallets, or FASTags.

The fintech companies were concerned that the RBI might impose stricter regulations on them following its action. Fintech representatives asked to meet with policy officials to get additional clarification.

Approximately 10,000 fintech enterprises operate throughout the nation, providing a range of financial services to their clientele.

"RBI continues to meet with fintech companies and we have not encountered any issues. An executive from a fintech company told FE, "We have always been able to schedule meetings with central bank officials whenever we have asked for them. "It is imperative that fintech companies have a monthly meeting with the RBI to obtain clarity on a range of issues," he continued.

Fintech company representatives claim that the central bank frequently releases circulars and notices, some of which are hard to interpret and cause confusion amongst businesses. The monthly meeting will provide an excellent forum for addressing questions about notices and circulars.