Account Aggregators are described as India's financial data-sharing DPI. Examine how interoperability among AAs can deepen financial inclusion, and discuss the privacy safeguards needed.

Account Aggregators (AAs) are NBFCs regulated by RBI. They pass a customer's financial data from the institutions that hold it (FIPs, such as banks) to the users who need it (FIUs, such as lenders and advisers), and only with the customer's explicit consent [2]. RBI plans to make India's about 15 AAs interoperable by 31 December 2026 [1]. That would make the AA network a single-window DPI, as UPI did for payments. How much it helps inclusion will depend on how strong its consent safeguards are.

How interoperability deepens financial inclusion

• Consolidated view: a person's data is now split across about 15 AAs. Interoperability brings it into one view of all their financial assets [1]. A borrower with little credit history could then show verified cash-flow records instead of collateral.
• Advice for ordinary households: with the customer's consent, advisers, asset managers and insurance brokers can give better-informed advice [1]. Until now, this kind of advice mostly reached wealthier clients.
• Bank deposits in the CAS: RBI will help SEBI-regulated depositories add bank deposits to the Consolidated Account Statement [1]. Heirs can then trace accounts before the money becomes unclaimed. This adds to RBI's UDGAM portal, whose 30 member banks covered about 90% of unclaimed deposits (by value) in the DEA Fund [3].
• Limitation: the CAS reaches only people who hold securities through depositories, and deposit data comes first from banks already onboarded [1]. Households without a demat account remain uncovered.

Privacy safeguards needed

• Consent for each purpose: one blanket "yes" covering loans, wealth services and account opening invites uninformed consent. A consolidated view makes a careless "yes" much more costly. AA rules should follow the DPDP Act, 2023 on consent for a specified purpose and on consent managers [4].
• Controls on the data user (FIU): AAs are "data-blind", meaning customer data must not stay with the AA [2]. The risk lies with the FIU that receives the data. FIUs need limits on how they use it, rules for deleting it, regular audits and curbs on cross-selling.
• Expiry and withdrawal: consent records already state the purpose and expiry date [2]. Customers need simple dashboards to withdraw consent.
• RBI–SEBI coordination: RBI and SEBI need common standards, joint grievance redress and a public list of onboarded banks [1].

Interoperability can turn scattered data silos into an engine for inclusive credit, advice and recovery of forgotten deposits. If RBI's rules are tied to the DPDP Act's purpose-limited consent, the AA network can deliver financial inclusion without giving up privacy, in line with Article 21 privacy rights and SDG 8.10.