Comments to the draft circular “Rationalisation of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for Debit Card Transactions”
The Future of Finance Initiative (FFI) is housed within the IFMR Finance Foundation (IFF) and aims to promote policy and regulatory strategies that protect citizens accessing finance given the sweeping changes that are reshaping retail financial services in India. Our vision is for regulation and policy to develop to support universal access for all citizens to a range of channels through which they can transact securely and confidently.
NBFCs’ collection efficiency takes a hit post demonetisation
Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) represent an important linkage between the formal banking sector and informal segments of the real economy in India (wage labourers, smallholder farmers, unorganised retail, and domestic workers) through the channelling of credit from the former to the latter. They have a significant presence in the microfinance, small business finance and commercial […]
NBFCs’ collection efficiency takes a hit post demonetisation
Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) represent an important linkage between the formal banking sector and informal segments of the real economy in India
Top 5 Game changers for the Indian Financial System in 2016
As the year comes to a close, we put together the top 5 developments that we believe have shaped the Indian financial system in 2016.
A brief comparison of Regulatory Requirements of Payments Banks, Small Finance Banks and Universal Banks
RBI recently released the operating guidelines for the Small Finance banks and Payments Banks on October 6, 2016. To take stock of these, we have put together a brief comparison of the regulatory requirements of these banks against those for universal banks.
Being ‘Sachet’ in Curbing Illegal Money Deposits
Taking a significant step towards curbing illegal collection of deposits by unauthorized and illegal entities, RBI recently set up a website named ‘Sachet’ (Alert).
In Conversation with Kalpana Pandey, CEO, CRIF High Mark
In this blog post we feature a conversation between Bama Balakrishnan, CRO, IFMR Capital and Kalpana Pandey, CEO & Managing Director, CRIF High Mark. CRIF High Mark is one of the four credit bureaus that operates in the country.
Contrasting the Regulatory Landscape for Credit Bureaus in India, USA and Australia
In this post we have put together an infograph below that highlights some of the aspects pertaining to credit bureau regulatory landscape in India, USA and Australia.
How Do India’s Payments Banks Measure Against Key Principles for Financial Inclusion?
Payments banks are different from regular banks. They can only accept deposits up to Rs. 1 lakh per person, roughly $1500, and cannot grant loans. Furthermore, payments banks can only invest their money in safe government securities and other highly liquid assets. Their primary objective is to further financial inclusion by providing access to small savings, payments and remittance services to low-income customers without compromising financial stability.
A Comparison of Capital requirements for Microfinance and Housing Finance Institutions
In this post, we attempt to compare the regulatory landscape for NBFC-MFIs and Housing Finance Companies (HFC) within the broader context of the regulatory landscape for niche credit intermediaries.