RBI issues the Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Peer to Peer Lending Platform) Directions, 2025

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), vide notification dated November 28, 2025, has issued the RBI (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Peer to Peer Lending Platform) Directions, 2025 (P2P Directions), in order to consolidate the extant regulations and guidelines in this regard and provide a comprehensive framework for the registration and operation of Non-Banking Financial Company – Peer to Peer Lending Platforms (NBFC-P2P) in India.

The key aspects considered under the P2P Directions, include inter alia the following:

• Role of Board of Directors, Registration and Permissible Activities

1. 1. Board of Directors: The NBFC-P2P shall put in place Board approved policies and establish periodic review mechanisms to ensure sound processes and systems. An illustrative list of such policies, to be approved by the board or its committees, is provided in the P2P Directions.

1. 2. Registration:

• • • Certificate of Registration: No non-banking institution other than a company shall undertake the business of Peer-to-Peer Lending Platform. No NBFC-P2P shall commence or carry on the business of a Peer-to-Peer Lending Platform without obtaining a Certificate of Registration from the RBI.

• • • Net Worth: Every company seeking registration with the RBI as an NBFC-P2P shall have a net owned fund of not less than rupees two crore or such higher amount as the RBI may specify.

1. 3. Scope of Activities: The NBFC-P2P shall, inter alia: (a) act as an intermediary providing an online marketplace or platform to the participants involved in Peer to Peer lending; (b) not raise deposits as defined by or under Section 45I(bb) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 or the Companies Act, 2013; (c) not lend on its own; (d) Not facilitate or permit any secured lending linked to its platform, i.e., only clean loans will be permitted, etc.

• Prudential Norms

The P2P Directions prescribe detailed prudential norms for NBFC P2P, including inter alia the leverage ratio to be maintain, aggregate exposure of a lender to all borrowers (i.e., concentration limits), declaration of dividend as well as other operational guidelines.

For more details, kindly refer to the P2P Directions, available by clicking on this link.