Digital India Trust Agency:

April 2, 2024

The Reserve Bank of India is considering establishing a Digital India Trust Agency (DIGITA) to combat cyber fraud and illegal lending apps.

About Digital India Trust Agency:

It will be responsible for stopping illegal lending apps from popping up. It will enable the verification of these digital lending apps and will maintain a public register of these verified applications.
Any app which will not carry the “verified” tag of DIGITA, will be considered unauthorised.
Significance: This will create an important and much-needed checkpoint in the fight against online financial fraud.

What is digital lending?

It is a remote and automated lending process, largely by use of seamless digital technologies. It generally involves three parties – a lender, a lending service provider (including a digital lending platform) and a borrower.
It involves lending through web platforms or mobile apps, utilising technology in customer acquisition, credit assessment, loan approval, disbursement, recovery and associated customer service.
It includes products like Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), which is a financing option (or simply a short-term loan product). It allows one to buy a product or avail a service without having to worry about paying for it immediately.