MUMBAI, October 16 — The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday promulgated comprehensive revised Master Directions governing Non-Banking Financial Company - Peer-to-Peer (NBFC-P2P) lending platforms, strictly enforcing investor protection safeguards and prohibiting unregulated credit enhancements.
Under the notified supervisory framework, the aggregate exposure of a single lender across all P2P platforms remains capped at ₹50 lakh, backed by mandatory CA-certified net-worth certification for exposures exceeding ₹10 lakh. Crucially, the central bank banned P2P entities from marketing products with assured yields, fixed returns, or credit risk guarantees, mandating that all fund transfers route strictly through independent bank escrow accounts without co-mingling.
The regulator reaffirmed that NBFC-P2P entities must operate purely as technology-driven matchmaking intermediaries and are barred from absorbing balance-sheet risks, creating shadow deposit-taking structures, or participating in credit syndication beyond pure match-and-facilitate roles.
The legal perimeter of Non-Banking Financial Companies under the RBI Act 1934, the operational mechanics of the RBI Digital Lending Guidelines 2022, the supervisory oversight of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), and systemic risks in algorithmic fintech credit constitute key study areas across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Financial Inclusivity & Banking Governance) and RBI Grade B examinations.