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1.A reference is invited to para 7 of the RBI Press Release “Recommendations of the Working Group on Digital Lending  Implementation” dated August 10, 2022. Detailed guidelines on recommendations of the Working Group accepted for immediate implementation are attached as Annex I to this circular.

2. It is reiterated that outsourcing arrangements entered by Regulated Entities (REs) with a Lending Service Provider (LSP)/ Digital Lending App (DLA) does not diminish the REs’ obligations and they shall continue to conform to the extant guidelines on outsourcing. The REs are advised to ensure that the LSPs engaged by them and the DLAs (either of the RE or of the LSP engaged by the RE) comply with the guidelines contained in this circular.

3. It is further advised that the instructions contained in this circular shall be applicable to the ‘existing customers availing fresh loans’ and to ‘new customers getting onboarded’, from the date of this circular. However, in order to ensure a smooth transition, REs shall be given time till November 30, 2022, to put in place adequate systems and processes to ensure that ‘existing digital loans’ (sanctioned as on the date of the circular) are also in compliance with these guidelines in both letter and spirit.

4. These directions are issued under sections 21, 35A and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, sections 45JA, 45L and 45M of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, sections 30A and 32 of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987, section 6 of the Factoring Regulation Act, 2011 and section 11 of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.