RBI Circulars Tracker — DSA, Digital Lending & DPDP Compliance
A curated index of 29+ Reserve Bank of India circulars and master directions that materially affect DSA loan-advisory work in India. All entries link back to rbi.org.in.
Digital Lending (4)
Empowers SRO-FT to set conduct codes for DL aggregators including disclosure, grievance, customer complaint resolution timelines.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-12-01
- Digital Lending — Transparency in Aggregation of Loan Products from Multiple Lenders (Apr 2024)2024-04-26
REs must ensure LSPs offering multiple lender quotes show name of all lenders willing to lend & pricing of each — borrower-facing.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-04-26
Permits structured DLG arrangements between REs and LSPs up to 5% of loan portfolio; bans synthetic credit enhancement.
Source: RBI · Effective 2023-06-08
- Guidelines on Digital Lending (Sep 2022)2022-09-02
First binding rules for digital lending: KFS to borrower, no auto-credit-line increase, cooling-off, LSP & DLA disclosures.
Source: RBI · Effective 2022-09-02
Lending & Pricing (10)
Higher provisioning (5%) on under-construction project loans; affects builder-floor / under-construction home-loan pricing for end-user.
Source: RBI · Effective 2025-04-01
Extends KFS requirement (from digital lending) to ALL retail and MSME loans across SCBs, NBFCs, ARCs.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-10-01
EMI repayments via BBPS standardized; lenders must support BBPS biller registration — reduces failed-EMI bounce reasons.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-04-01
Borrower must receive a one-page KFS in vernacular before sanction: APR, all-in cost, EMI, recovery mechanism, grievance route.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-04-01
On EBLR/MCLR reset, REs must offer borrower choice: tenor extension, EMI hike, switch to fixed, or prepayment — written communication.
Source: RBI · Effective 2023-12-31
REs must convert penal interest into 'penal charges'; cannot capitalise; quantum reasonable & non-discriminatory; disclosed in KFS.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-01-01
Permits co-lending arrangements: NBFC originates, bank funds 80%, joint pricing transparent to borrower; DSA/aggregator role permitted.
Source: RBI · Effective 2020-11-05
All floating retail/MSME loans must be linked to external benchmark (Repo, T-bill); banks publish reset frequency ≤ 3 months.
Source: RBI · Effective 2019-10-01
Banks/NBFCs cannot levy foreclosure or pre-payment penalties on floating rate term loans availed by individual borrowers.
Source: RBI · Effective 2014-05-07
Original FPC requiring transparency on processing fees, EMI schedules, prepayment charges, and grievance redress.
Source: RBI · Effective 2007-05-05
DSA / Outsourcing (2)
DSAs facilitating loan applications must ensure credit pull is on RE's letterhead with auditable consent trail; no soft-pull bypass.
Source: RBI · Effective 2023-01-01
- Outsourcing of Financial Services by Banks — Code of Conduct for DSAs/DMAs/Recovery Agents2006-11-03
DSAs must follow IBA Model Code of Conduct: identification, no harassment, KFS pre-disbursal, complaint logging.
Source: RBI · Effective 2006-11-03
NBFC Regulation (4)
Risk weight on unsecured personal loans raised from 100% to 125%; bank lending to NBFCs from 100% to 125% — pricing pressure.
Source: RBI · Effective 2023-11-16
Removes interest-rate ceiling on MFI loans; pegs FOIR cap at 50% of household income; mandates pricing transparency.
Source: RBI · Effective 2022-04-01
Four-layered NBFC framework: NBFC-BL, ML, UL, TL. Higher governance, NPA recognition, IPO lending caps for upper layer.
Source: RBI · Effective 2022-10-01
FPC parity for NBFC lending: rate-of-interest documentation, vernacular sanction letters, no harassment in recovery.
Source: RBI · Effective 2014-11-10
Recovery & Grievance (4)
Defines 'wilful defaulter' (>=Rs 25L outstanding, intentional non-payment); mandates structured review committee + appeals.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-11-01
Mandates internal ombudsman for select large NBFCs as last grievance step before RBI Ombudsman; DSA complaints routed via this channel.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-06-30
Permits Board-approved compromise settlements with wilful defaulters/fraud accounts; 12-month cool-off before fresh credit.
Source: RBI · Effective 2023-06-08
Recovery agents must hold IIBF certification, no calls between 7 PM and 7 AM, no abuse, and disputes referred to Banking Ombudsman.
Source: RBI · Effective 2017-07-01
KYC / AML (3)
Risk-based periodic KYC update intervals: high-risk every 2 yrs, medium 8 yrs, low 10 yrs; remote/online channels permitted.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-04-01
Permits banks/NBFCs to onboard customers via video-KYC; specifies geo-tagging, liveness check, and tamper-proof storage.
Source: RBI · Effective 2020-05-09
Consolidated KYC framework: CDD, ongoing monitoring, video-KYC permitted, Aadhaar-based eKYC for low-risk customers.
Source: RBI · Effective 2016-02-25
Data Protection (DPDP) (2)
Establishes consent-based data fiduciary model; lenders must obtain explicit consent, support data principal rights, breach notification.
Source: RBI · Effective 2024-01-01
Tightens cyber-security baseline for REs to align with DPDP: incident reporting in 6 hrs, board-level CISO, third-party risk reviews.
Source: RBI · Effective 2023-04-20
Educational summary only — not legal advice. Always consult the original RBI circular at rbi.org.in before applying any provision to a live loan file.