The Reserve Bank of India's ambitious digital lending project, the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), is witnessing explosive growth, fundamentally reshaping how credit is delivered across the nation. A recent RBI report on banking trends for 2024-25 highlights a dramatic surge in adoption, with the platform now connecting a vast network of lenders and data sources to streamline loan disbursement for millions of Indians.
Sharp Rise in Lender Participation and Data Services
The core strength of the ULI lies in its expanding ecosystem. As of 12 December 2024, a total of 64 lenders have joined the platform, a significant leap from the 36 lenders recorded in early December of the previous year. This cohort includes 41 traditional banks and 23 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), indicating widespread institutional confidence in its protocol-driven architecture.
Parallel to this, the variety of data services accessible to lenders for credit assessment has multiplied. Lenders now leverage over 136 distinct data services to facilitate 12 different types of loan journeys. Just a year ago, this number stood at just over 50. These services are critical for risk evaluation and include:
- Authentication and verification tools.
- Land records from eight states, expanded from six.
- Satellite data, transliteration services, and property search.
- Specialized insights for sectors like dairy farming.
- Credit guarantee-related information.
This rich tapestry of data allows for more accurate underwriting and faster loan decisions, bringing formal credit to previously underserved segments.
Disbursement Milestones and Expanding Reach
The platform, initially piloted in August 2023 as the Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit, has already facilitated substantial credit flow. By December 2024, it had enabled the disbursal of more than 600,000 loans worth ₹27,000 crore via its APIs. A significant portion of this, 160,000 loans amounting to ₹14,500 crore, were directed to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
While the latest report does not provide updated annual disbursement figures, the growth trajectory is clear. In a public address in April, RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar revealed that the ULI had facilitated over 1.4 million loans totaling ₹65,000 crore. He emphasized the platform's role in disbursing a substantial volume of Kisan Credit Card and MSME loans.
"It is a platform that has lenders on one side and the data required for these lenders to process loans on the other. At present, more than 60 such data sources have been linked to this platform," Sankar explained at the IIMA Ventures' Bharat Inclusion Summit.
Driving Financial Inclusion Beyond Metro Cities
The ULI's impact is notably penetrating India's cooperative banking landscape, crucial for rural credit. Through integration with NABARD's e-Kisan Credit Card (e-KCC) platform, the ULI is now empowering customers of district central co-operative banks and regional rural banks to access digital credit efficiently. This move is pivotal for bringing seamless lending services to farmers and small businesses in India's heartland, aligning with broader financial inclusion goals.
The platform operates by providing banks and NBFCs with consolidated access to a borrower's financial and non-financial data, enabling efficient credit decisions. For consumers, it translates to the ability to choose from a wider, more competitive range of loan offers, much like the UPI revolution transformed payments.
With an ever-growing lender base, a rapidly multiplying suite of data services, and clear evidence of large-scale loan disbursement, the Unified Lending Interface is solidifying its position as a cornerstone of India's digital public infrastructure, poised to make credit more accessible, affordable, and frictionless for all.
