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Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Infosys and Founding Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has called for expanding the Account Aggregator (AA) ecosystem beyond its current reach to make financial services more accessible and inclusive, particularly for small businesses, gig workers and street vendors.
Speaking at the SAMVAAD India Open Finance Summit 2026, Nilekani said the Account Aggregator ecosystem needs to grow from reaching 20% of adults to 50%, highlighting its potential to expand access to credit and support a more productive, inclusive and data-driven economy.
He cited the scale of India's digital public infrastructure, noting that Aadhaar records 9 crore authentications per day, with 95% of adults enrolled.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processes 75 crore transactions daily and reaches 45-50% of adults, while the Account Aggregator ecosystem records 10 lakh consents per day and reaches 20% of adults.
Nilekani said the strength of the AA system lies in the multiple uses of financial data. He called for bringing all financial data onto the AA network and expanding its applications beyond lending and beyond the already banked population.
He noted that the ecosystem primarily reaches salaried individuals and needs to extend its reach to street vendors, gig workers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The Account Aggregator framework could help people without assets access credit based on their financial data, opening up new opportunities for borrowers who may otherwise struggle to obtain loans.
Nilekani said the AA ecosystem has multiple use cases and presents an opportunity to transform India into a productive, inclusive and data-driven economy. He also said there was no comparable system anywhere in the world.
AA and AI can support small businesses
Nilekani highlighted the potential of combining Account Aggregator infrastructure with artificial intelligence (AI) to help millions of small businesses start, grow and create employment.
He stressed the need to enable millions of small businesses, adding that smaller enterprises are more resistant to the impact of AI on jobs because many tasks they perform cannot be done by AI.
[faq type="faq"][ques]What is an Account Aggregator?[/ques][ans]An Account Aggregator (AA) is an entity regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that enables the secure sharing of financial data between institutions with the user's consent. It allows individuals and businesses to share their financial information from banks, insurance companies and mutual fund companies to access financial services, including loans and credit.[/ans][/faq]
Also Read: Nandan Nilekani dismisses AI job-loss fears, says technology will create new roles
Speaking at the SAMVAAD India Open Finance Summit 2026, Nilekani said the Account Aggregator ecosystem needs to grow from reaching 20% of adults to 50%, highlighting its potential to expand access to credit and support a more productive, inclusive and data-driven economy.
He cited the scale of India's digital public infrastructure, noting that Aadhaar records 9 crore authentications per day, with 95% of adults enrolled.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processes 75 crore transactions daily and reaches 45-50% of adults, while the Account Aggregator ecosystem records 10 lakh consents per day and reaches 20% of adults.
Nilekani said the strength of the AA system lies in the multiple uses of financial data. He called for bringing all financial data onto the AA network and expanding its applications beyond lending and beyond the already banked population.
He noted that the ecosystem primarily reaches salaried individuals and needs to extend its reach to street vendors, gig workers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The Account Aggregator framework could help people without assets access credit based on their financial data, opening up new opportunities for borrowers who may otherwise struggle to obtain loans.
Nilekani said the AA ecosystem has multiple use cases and presents an opportunity to transform India into a productive, inclusive and data-driven economy. He also said there was no comparable system anywhere in the world.
AA and AI can support small businesses
Nilekani highlighted the potential of combining Account Aggregator infrastructure with artificial intelligence (AI) to help millions of small businesses start, grow and create employment.
He stressed the need to enable millions of small businesses, adding that smaller enterprises are more resistant to the impact of AI on jobs because many tasks they perform cannot be done by AI.
“We are creating infrastructure for the birth of millions of small companies.” NANDAN NILEKANI, INFOSYS CHAIRMAN
[faq type="faq"][ques]What is an Account Aggregator?[/ques][ans]An Account Aggregator (AA) is an entity regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that enables the secure sharing of financial data between institutions with the user's consent. It allows individuals and businesses to share their financial information from banks, insurance companies and mutual fund companies to access financial services, including loans and credit.[/ans][/faq]
Also Read: Nandan Nilekani dismisses AI job-loss fears, says technology will create new roles
