MUMBAI, October 8 — The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday notified stringent operational amendments governing Non-Banking Financial Company-Peer to Peer Lending Platforms (NBFC-P2P), barring intermediary platforms from offering informal credit assurances and tightening escrow governance to protect retail retail depositors.
Under the updated master directions issued under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, P2P platforms are prohibited from offering any direct or indirect credit guarantees, assured return schemes, or performance-enhancement indemnities. The central bank strictly eliminated opaque algorithm-driven automated portfolio matching that pooled lender capital into multi-layered investment schemes, mandating that every individual disbursement map directly between a verified borrower and a specific lending retail participant.
The regulator reaffirmed the aggregate lending ceiling capping an individual lender's multi-platform exposure at ₹50 lakh, mandating certified chartered accountant net-worth verification for individuals seeking exposure beyond ₹10 lakh. Furthermore, platforms must publish disaggregated monthly non-performing asset (NPA) disclosures, loan loss recovery ratios, and default trends on their primary landing pages, accompanied by mandatory statutory escrow clearing overseen by an independent trustee bank.
The regulatory architecture of NBFCs under Chapter III-B of the RBI Act 1934, digital lending guidelines, systemic fintech risk mitigation, and shadow banking oversight represent essential competencies across RBI Grade B, SEBI Grade A, and UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Indian Financial Sector). Candidates should remember that the RBI first brought P2P platforms under statutory regulation in October 2017, designating them as specialized NBFC-P2P entities restricted exclusively to intermediary facilitation without balance-sheet risk absorption.