RBI is Pushing UPI-like Credit Platform for Farmers, MSMEs

 PTPFC platform to help lenders and fintechs plug into the demand for agri and MSME loans

Pratlk Bhakta@timesntexnetr.in 

Bengaluru: The Reserve Bank of India is pushing for the wider adop tion of an open-source credit dis bursal platform similar to the Uni fied Payments Interface for digital payments, to make it easier for farmers and owners of small busi nesses to access credit While disbursal of consumer loans through a digital interface has be come common, farmers and people who run small businesses still need to queue up at their local bank branches and the land records department for days to access agriculture loans and take Kisan credit cards The Public Tech Platform for Finan ial Credit (PTPFC) isenvisaged toad dress this issue. Lenders and startups can plug into the PTPFC platform to ater to the growing need of formal dit. The platform is already powering

agri loans, Kisan credit cards per month from local trading hubs small value MSME loans and other ich products. The Reserve Bank In novation Hub, along with the central bank’s fintech department, is driving his programme, said a senior banke: in the know. “Around 3,500 crore worth of loans in agri and MSME have been disbursed through the plat form,” the banker said The RBI did not respond to emailed queries Industry estimates suggest that more than 30% of the farmers in the country take loans at rates as high as iddharth I mnm{\. lenders. A digital credit dis bursal platform from banks can help them reduce their input costs by as much as 30%, say industry insiders.

DIGITAL DATA COLLECTION The platform works in a way that technology companies can plug in to it and connect with banks like Union Bank of India and Axis Bank. Startups can build consumer-facing applications through which consumers can apply for such loans digitally. It is very similar to the UPI architecture where fintechs build the front-facing apps but the underlying transaction account is with the banks. “With many states having digitised land records, we can check the land details digitally, use satellite data t« mapthearea, use Digilocker and Aad haar to verify credentials of the appli cantand processloans instantly,” said Timmana Gouda D, founder of Ben galuru-based WhatsLoan that distrib utes such loans for farmers and agri workers. Since all this processing is done digit d\ in the backend farm ~an apply paperwork \r Kisan ber easilyd ‘mumr.\ are alsc ers ( d PO million PM can access loar building checks ensure red flags get raised when a d¢ faulter applies for loans tries to defraud the system. “We PTPFC for agri loans, Kisan credit cards in states like Karnataka , Maha rashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhy Pradesh,” Gouda said. Axis Bank one of the Hld](!l lenders using this platform for MSME loans and some igri credit as well. “They have plugged in farm r‘econ‘h which are now d)mldll\ available. This means that there is lower risk of frauds in these data sets. Also, it is a more effi cient means of credit disbursal with out human intervention at every step,” said Sameer Shetty, Axis Bank’s president and head of digital business and transformation.