'Fintechs must treat data as fiduciary duty, not business asset,' says RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra

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 firms achieving significant scale.