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April marked another important step in India’s emergence as a global leader in open finance. The Account Aggregator (AA) framework was increasingly recognised as a scalable model for trusted, consent-based data sharing.
This was reflected in global conversations at the Open Finance Africa Symposium in Cape Town and the recent NITI Aayog DPI@2047 for Viksit Bharat report, which recognised the AA ecosystem as a foundational Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for India’s future growth. Encouragingly, the recent CGAP survey in India and Brazil on the impact of open finance also found that 97% of users found it beneficial, underscoring the growing value of the framework for consumers.
This edition of Varta captures key developments shaping the ecosystem’s next phase, from ReBIT’s new UI/UX Guidelines focused on customer protection and informed consent to ongoing conversations around governance, fair use, and financial inclusion.
We are also pleased to share news of Sahamati’s ₹50 crore funding round, reflecting the continued commitment of ecosystem participants towards accelerating adoption and advancing financial inclusion at scale.
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Across the world, India’s adoption of the Account Aggregator framework is emerging as a leading global case study in building trusted, interoperable open finance ecosystems at population scale. We saw this reflected at the Open Finance Africa Symposium in Cape Town last week, where Chief Innovation Officer, Sahamati, and Head of Sahamati Labs, Kiran Gopinath, and Sahamati’s Chief Policy & Advocacy Officer, Shalini Gupta, engaged with global ecosystem thought leaders on the evolving open finance landscape, presenting India’s open finance journey and key implementation learnings.
In India too, this growing relevance was further reinforced in the recent NITI Aayog report, DPI@2047 for Viksit Bharat, which recognised the Account Aggregator framework as a foundational digital public infrastructure (DPI) for India’s future growth. The report highlights the AA ecosystem as a globally significant DPI case study, enabling secure, consent-driven data sharing while empowering individuals with greater control over their financial information. Importantly, it also acknowledged Sahamati’s role in supporting ecosystem coordination.
Alongside this recognition, the release of ReBIT’s UI/UX Guidelines for the AA ecosystem marks another important step forward in strengthening customer protection and informed consent. As adoption scales, ensuring intuitive user-centric experiences will be critical to deepening consumer confidence and driving meaningful participation across sectors.
As we look ahead, the next phase of growth for the ecosystem will require continued collaboration across regulators, financial institutions, and ecosystem enablers. In this context, we are encouraged by the strong vote of confidence reflected in Sahamati’s recent funding round, with support from leading financial institutions across the ecosystem. This collective backing reflects a shared commitment towards strengthening the digital infrastructure required to enable secure, consent-based data sharing at scale. We are deeply grateful to our members and partners for their continued trust and support in advancing this collective vision.
As we move into the next phase of growth, our focus will remain on accelerating adoption, strengthening governance and trust frameworks, and enabling new use cases that can expand access to financial services for millions of Indians. Together, we have the opportunity to build one of the world’s most impactful open finance ecosystems and further India’s journey towards inclusive digital empowerment.
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The Pulse: Ecosystem Stats |
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450+ M
Consents Fulfilled
20+ M
Monthly Consents
176
FIPs Live on AAs
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294+ M
Accounts Linked
10+ M
Monthly Accounts Linked
1020 FIUs Live on AAs
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290+ M
Monthly Data Shares
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1120 Live REs on AA
17 Total Operational AAs
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Sahamati Secures ₹50 Crore to Power Next Wave of Financial Inclusion
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In April, Sahamati announced a landmark funding raise of ₹50 crore from over 30 leading financial sector entities. This unprecedented, broad-based institutional participation marks a defining moment in the evolution of India’s consent-based data sharing framework, positioning it as a critical layer in the country’s digital public infrastructure. With this, the Account Aggregator ecosystem is also entering its next phase, with the ecosystem infrastructure now in place to support widespread adoption and scale. |
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Common Standards and Best Practices |
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Fair Use Explained Series Continues: Understanding Process-Based B2B Templates & Guardrails As part of its continuing series on #FairUseExplained, Sahamati hosted a webinar led by Geethashree Srikanta from the Governance team on April 28, 2026. The session explored how participatory governance within the AA ecosystem is shaping responsible data-sharing practices. It focused specifically on process-based (B2B) templates and guardrails, helping teams working on enterprise risk, compliance, operational monitoring, and onboarding workflows understand how financial data access should be structured on the AA rails to ensure compliance. If you would like to know more about Sahamati’s Fair Use Library, as it continues to be increasingly adopted within the AA ecosystem, this is a good place to start. Get the complete overview in our blog here>>
ReBIT Releases Account Aggregator (AA) Client Standards
ReBIT released the Account Aggregator (AA) Client Standards on April 30, 2026, to strengthen security, improve user experience, and ensure consistent behaviour across AA applications. The standards are expected to be complied with by 31st October 2026.
The guidelines set baseline requirements for AA applications covering authentication, device binding, security controls, API/client behaviour, and certain consent screen design elements, all aimed at improving transparency in consent and data sharing.
The standards adopt a balanced hybrid approach, where a majority of the requirements are strictly testable and objective, while still providing ample flexibility in design and user experience, enabling institutions to innovate within a clear and consistent framework.
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Virtual Roundtable: Expanding National Pension Scheme Distribution Enabled by the AA Framework
250 million Indians will be above 60 by 2050. Yet, formal retirement savings still remain out of reach for the vast majority. Sahamati sought to address this through its virtual roundtable that explored expanding access to the National Pension Scheme, leveraging the AA framework, thereby building a strong retirement savings culture that reaches every Indian.
Reach out to us if you’re building in this space: info@sahamati.org.in
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The Open Finance Africa Symposium in Cape Town
Founder and Head of Sahamati Labs Kiran Gopinath and Sahamati’s Chief Policy & Advocacy Officer Shalini Gupta participated in the Open Finance Africa Symposium in Cape Town from April 23-24, 2026. The symposium brought together regulators, industry representatives, and development partners to discuss the impact of open finance on financial inclusion, consumer protection, and competitiveness in various African countries, while outlining the practical requirements for building effective frameworks. Sahamati presented India’s implementation of open finance, which drew great interest amongst the participants at the event.
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In a recent episode of her podcast, Monika uses everyday examples to unpack the transformative potential of India’s Account Aggregator framework and why it could fundamentally change the way Indians control and share their financial data. By breaking down complex concepts into relatable scenarios, the episode helps make the Account Aggregator framework more relevant to everyday users.
Economic Times announces the new funding secured by Sahamati, saying, “This funding will enhance the data sharing platform’s infrastructure and participation. The investment supports the development of a robust framework for financial data management, placing consumers in control of their information.”
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From the Ground: The AA Impact Story |
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The ₹310 Crore Impact Enabled by AA Integration A leading Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) integrated the AA framework across its Consumer Durable (CD) loans, Personal Loans (PL), SME loans, and Two-Wheeler financing segments to improve customer acquisition and drive operational efficiency. Expected Impact: A projected 5–10% increase in disbursements across these lending segments through improved customer journeys Results Delivered: The eNACH representation success rate (after the first bounce) increased from 5% to 35% when recurring consent through the AA framework was enabled, resulting in an estimated ₹310 crore business impact. The AA Difference: Beyond operational gains, the integration also helped create stronger customer engagement by enabling greater visibility into financial health and borrowing behaviour, while fostering trust through secure, consent-driven data sharing. | |
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Sahamati Foundation is a member-driven industry alliance
formed to promote and strengthen the Account Aggregator ecosystem in
India.
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