How to check if a P2P platform is RBI-registered

“RBI registered” is probably one of the first things you will look for when checking a P2P lending platform. After all, if you are going to lend your money or take a loan through an online platform, knowing that it falls under RBI regulation should matter. But there is a small catch.

Seeing the words “RBI registered” on a website does not, by itself, establish whether the company is authorised to operate a P2P lending platform.

You need to know which company holds the registration, what activity it is registered for and whether the platform you are considering belongs to that company. The following checklist will help you verify these details.

First, understand what RBI registration actually means

P2P lending stands for peer-to-peer lending. In simple terms, P2P lending brings lenders and borrowers onto the same platform. A person looking to borrow can get connected with people willing to lend, while the platform handles the process around that transaction.

In India, a company operating a P2P lending platform falls under the NBFC-P2P framework. The platform is an intermediary. It is not supposed to lend its own money to the borrower or take the credit risk of the loan onto its own books. That is where the word “registered” needs some context.

An RBI registration means the company has been granted a Certificate of Registration (CoR) to carry on the regulated P2P platform business. It does not mean that the RBI has checked and approved every loan on the platform. Or even mean that a lender is guaranteed to get the money back.

This distinction is easy to miss when you are looking for a personal loan online.

How to verify a P2P platform's RBI registration in five steps

1. Start with the company, not the brand

Suppose you come across a P2P app called XYZ. The first thing you should find out is not whether “XYZ” appears on the RBI website.

Find out which legal company operates XYZ.

Under RBI's NBFC-P2P Directions, a platform must prominently display its registered legal company name alongside its brand name, if any, across its customer interfaces and communications. You should therefore be able to identify the legal entity from the platform's website or other information provided to users.

You can usually find this information in the website footer, terms and conditions, privacy policy, regulatory disclosures or other legal documents. The company name may look completely different from the brand name you see on the app. That is not unusual. Brands and legal entities do not always have the same name.

For your RBI check, however, the legal entity is what matters.

So, if a website says, “XYZ is an RBI-registered P2P platform”, look for the company behind XYZ. Write down that legal name before moving to the next step.

2. Look for that company in RBI records

Now take the legal company name and check the RBI records of registered NBFCs.

Visit the RBI's official list of registered NBFCs and look for the company using its registered legal name. Check the date of the published records and review RBI's information on cancelled Certificates of Registration as well. A company that previously held a CoR may no longer be authorised to carry on the regulated activity.

This is a much better test than searching Google for the phrase “RBI-approved P2P platform”. Search results can lead you to articles, advertisements and third-party websites. None of those is a substitute for checking the regulator's own records.

There is another reason to do this carefully. RBI registration belongs to a legal entity. So, finding an article that mentions a particular brand is not enough. The company operating that brand should be identifiable and should match the entity in the RBI record.

If you cannot find the company, check whether you have searched for its legal name rather than its brand name. You can also ask the platform for its Certificate of Registration (CoR) details and seek clarification through RBI's official channels if the records do not match. Avoid proceeding on the strength of the platform's registration claim alone.

3. Check that the RBI registration is actually for P2P lending

Finding the company in the RBI list is only part of the exercise. You also want to know what kind of NBFC it is.

P2P lending is a specific RBI-regulated activity. RBI recognises NBFC-P2P as a separate category entirely. So, a company being a RBI-registered NBFC does not automatically mean that it is registered to operate a P2P lending platform.

Think of it this way:

• You have identified the company.
• You have found the company in RBI records.
• Now ask one more question: is it registered as an NBFC-P2P?

That is the check that connects the company to the activity you are actually interested in.

4. Compare the Certificate of Registration (CoR) and read the regulatory information

Next, examine the platform's Certificate of Registration details and compare the legal company name with RBI's records. If the platform also uses a brand name, you should be able to establish its relationship with the registered company. A certificate displayed on the platform's website should be supported by independent verification through RBI records.

Spend a few minutes on the platform's regulatory or legal section. RBI requires NBFC-P2P platforms to publicly disclose information about their business model, credit assessment methodology, data protection and grievance redressal mechanism. P2P lending platforms must also disclose their portfolio performance, including the monthly share of non-performing assets (loans classified as overdue under the applicable rules), the ageing of these loans and losses borne by lenders.

These disclosures can help you understand how the platform assesses borrowers and what its loan performance has been like. It also gives you something more useful than a large “RBI-registered” badge on the homepage.

5. Pay attention to what the P2P lending platform promises

Now comes the check that does not involve a list or a certificate.

Read the actual language used by the platform.

• Does the platform promise assured returns or suggest that your principal is protected?
• Does it make repayment sound certain or offer guaranteed liquidity?

Such claims should prompt you to examine whether the platform's representations are consistent with RBI's NBFC-P2P framework.

Under the RBI framework, an NBFC-P2P cannot assume the credit risk of loans facilitated through its platform. The lender bears the credit risk. RBI has also made it clear that P2P platforms cannot promote these arrangements as investment products with assured minimum returns or similar assured liquidity features.

A RBI-regulated P2P platform in India facilitates lending between participants, while the lender remains exposed to the possibility of borrower default. The platform's RBI registration does not guarantee repayment of the loan.

The five checks at a glance

You do not need to complete all five checks in five minutes. If something does not add up, that is a reason to pause rather than a reason to make assumptions.

Does RBI registration make P2P lending safe?

No. And this is where many people can misunderstand what regulation actually does.

RBI registration establishes that a company has received authorisation to carry on regulated NBFC-P2P platform business. However, registration does not remove the credit risk associated with loans facilitated through the platform.

If you are a lender, you are ultimately lending to a borrower. If that borrower defaults, you may lose part or all of the principal you lent, along with any unpaid interest. The P2P platform cannot guarantee recovery of your principal or interest.

RBI requires NBFC-P2P platforms to obtain an explicit declaration from lenders acknowledging these risks, including the possibility of losing the entire principal. You should therefore understand the risks of the underlying loans even after verifying the platform's registration.

What should P2P lenders check beyond RBI registration?

Once you have established that the platform is an NBFC P2P, there is still some homework to do.

Start with borrower assessment. What information does the platform give you before you lend? How does it assess a borrower’s ability to repay? What information is available about the loans already on the platform?

Then examine the fees disclosed by the platform, the repayment process and what happens when a borrower becomes overdue. RBI requires NBFC-P2P platforms to disclose their fees upfront, with fees structured as a fixed amount or a fixed proportion of the loan principal. You should also review the platform's portfolio disclosures, including overdue loans and losses borne by lenders.

Most importantly, do not make a lending decision based only on the return being shown on your screen. Consider the borrower's creditworthiness and the possibility of default before deciding whether the lending arrangement is appropriate for you.

Also read: New P2P lenders: 6 Smart lending habits you should build

What should a P2P borrower check?

The starting point is the same: verify the platform, and after that, look at the loan itself.

What will the borrowing actually cost you? What is the interest rate? Are there processing or other applicable fees? How much will you have to repay and over what period? What happens if you miss a payment?

The phrase “quick personal loan” can be attractive when you need money urgently. But speed should not stop you from reading the terms. A P2P personal loan is still a loan. You should understand the cost before you accept it.

Why does the RBI check matter in the first place?

There are plenty of financial products and lending services available online today. To a user, several of them can look quite similar. That makes the identity of the company behind a platform more important, not less.

A website may describe itself as a P2P platform. Another may use the phrase “RBI-compliant”. A third may talk about regulated lending. Those descriptions are not enough to establish that the entity is an RBI registered NBFC-P2P.

Checking the company against RBI records gives you a much firmer starting point. From there, you can look at how the platform works, what it charges, what information it gives you and how it talks about risk.

Frequently asked questions

Paras Trivedi

Paras writes about P2P lending, borrowing and financial regulations, helping readers understand financial concepts and make informed decisions.