{
  "id": 6672664,
  "title": "'Fintechs must treat data as fiduciary duty, not business asset,' says RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/fintechs-must-treat-data-as-fiduciary-duty-not-business-asset-says",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-10T18:46:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times - Top News",
    "slug": "the-economic-times-top-news",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/fintechs-must-treat-data-as-fiduciary-duty-not-business-asset-says-rbi-governor-sanjay-malhotra/articleshow/134037159.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Sanjay Malhotra emphasized that fintechs and financial institutions must view data as a fiduciary responsibility, rather than a mere business asset. He stated this during his address at the Global Fintech Fest, emphasizing that trust in the financial system is crucial for its adoption and long-term success, leading to transformative impacts. Malhotra highlighted that every fintech in the room possesses the most valuable asset of all - data. This data should be handled with the same diligence as a trustee would treat assets for a beneficiary, collected with a clear purpose, used strictly within the user's consent, and safeguarded as though it were their own. He reiterated the risks associated with the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the fintech sector, including potential biases, exclusion, cybersecurity threats, data privacy concerns, and the erosion of human judgment. Malhotra warned that when a firm prioritizes data as a monetizable asset before acknowledging its responsibility to protect it, trust erodes irreversibly. He urged financial institutions to assume systemic responsibility that scales with their size, noting that even fintechs outside prudential regulation could have a significant impact on the financial system if they grow to the point where their disruption is meaningful. Malhotra described this as the obligation to be not just too big to fail, but too significant to be careless, emphasizing that operational resilience, business continuity, and cybersecurity are not burdens or costs to be minimized but the price of the scale a firm has achieved. He cautioned against structuring a business around the gaps between regulatory categories, suggesting that firms engaging with regulators early, asking questions, testing assumptions under supervision, and shaping workable rules for genuine innovation stand a better chance of scaling. Malhotra also highlighted that India's fintech ecosystem ranks third globally by funding, having attracted $2.4 billion in the previous year, and is home to 30 unicorns. He noted that many emerging economies face similar challenges to India's.",
  "summary": "Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra stressed data fiduciary responsibility for fintechs. He stated that user data must be treated as a trustee asset, not a business asset. Firms must use data strictly within user consent, protecting it diligently. He warned that eroding trust through data misuse leads to irreversible damage. Operational resilience and cybersecurity are essential for…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Economic Times - Top News",
        "title": "RBI Deputy Governor Rohit Jain flags speed, concentration and opacity as fintech risks; says technology must serve customers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/rbi-deputy-governor-rohit-jain-flags-speed-concentration-and-opacity",
        "published": "2026-09-09T14:23:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Business Standard IN",
        "title": "Fintech should treat data as a fiduciary responsibility: RBI Governor",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/fintech-should-treat-data-as-a-fiduciary-responsibility-rbi-governor",
        "published": "2026-09-10T11:14:57.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}