BFSI Basics + Regulator Touchpoints
Indian finance is shaped by five statutes and four regulators. Every fintech product ends up under one of them — the only real question is which.
Why this is on a data and AI site: the regulator you fall under decides which data and AI rules sit on top of DPDP. RBI, SEBI and IRDAI each add their own. SEBI, for example, makes regulated entities answerable for the AI they use (Regulation 16C).
Five statutes do most of the work in Indian finance:
- The RBI Act, 1934.
- The Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
- The SEBI Act, 1992.
- The Insurance Act, 1938.
- The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
Between them, these statutes decide who your regulator is and which regime you fall inside.
RBI covers banks, credit, payments, and most non-banking financial companies. SEBI covers the stock markets, brokers, and investment advisers. IRDAI covers insurance. PFRDA covers pensions. If your product touches money, it will land somewhere on that map. There is no meaningful gap between them.
Am I a Data Fiduciary?
The very first compliance question in finance is whose regime you sit under. Run the self-check to lock in your DPDP baseline before working out your sector regulator.
Run it nowIn the past, many digital finance products launched first and worked out which regulator applied afterwards. That approach has stopped working. You must choose your regulator at design time, not tidy it up later. That choice shapes licences, data storage, disclosures, and complaint handling from day one.
This page summarises finance and fintech expectations for orientation. For binding rulings on your product, consult qualified counsel and the primary source below.
Consolidated text on India Code. Amendment currency not individually checked.