Digital lending firms should operate under licence granted: RBI governor

Central bank last month banned the loading of prepaid payment instruments from credit lines

Digital lending firms should first seek the central bank’s permission before getting into businesses they are not licensed for, said Shaktikanta Das, governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Friday.

A RBI notification last month banned the loading of prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) from credit lines, shocking buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) companies and the wider fintech industry.

“The firms should operate under the licenses granted to them. If they are doing anything beyond that then they should seek our permission. Without permission, if they are engaging in activities for which they have no license then it is not acceptable. There will