Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 27: India’s robust Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) — encompassing Aadhaar, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the emerging Unified Lending Interface (ULI) — has the potential to bring 450 million untapped borrowers into the formal credit system, according to a report released on Monday by the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), a self-regulatory organisation recognised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The report, prepared in collaboration with D91 Labs by Setu, credited India’s DPI for revolutionising the lending ecosystem by digitising and simplifying key processes such as onboarding, underwriting, and collections. Through its consent-driven, paperless, and app-first approach, DPI has enabled financial inclusion at an unprecedented scale.
According to the findings, fintech NBFCs accounted for 74 per cent of personal loan volumes in FY 2024–25. Aadhaar-based onboarding has reached record levels, with over 39 crore e-KYC transactions being processed each month. The adoption of Aadhaar e-KYC, DigiLocker, and eSign has also drastically reduced onboarding costs from $23 to just $0.5 per customer, while the Account Aggregator (AA) framework has facilitated underwriting for over 1.89 crore loans.
The report further revealed that UPI now supports over 151 million debt collection transactions monthly, transforming the way repayments and EMIs are managed. With 491 million UPI users across the country, the platform processes an average of Rs77,000 crore in collections and EMI payments each month, while Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) handles around Rs15,521 crore monthly.
“India’s DPI has turned smartphones into credit gateways, bridging the gap between underserved populations and formal lending channels,” said Sugandh Saxena, CEO of FACE. “By embedding frictionless onboarding, real-time data sharing, and seamless digital payments, DPI has made digital lending the default choice for millions.”
Saxena added that the next phase of growth would depend on continued innovation within DPIs, including leveraging Aadhaar, UPI, ULI, and the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to build more secure and purpose-built credit products. He also emphasised the importance of collaboration among regulators, financial institutions, and fintech innovators to ensure responsible and sustainable expansion of credit access.
The report concluded that India’s DPI model stands as a global example of how technology-led financial infrastructure can transform access to credit, reduce operational costs, and promote inclusion — setting the foundation for a more equitable digital economy.