of various types, each type with its own unique features. however, with the steady rise in volumes of trade and commerce and the growing confidence of the public in the usage of cheques, etc., there was also rapid growth in the payment transactions using these instruments. with the development of the banking system and higher volume of cheques used, the need for an organised cheque clearing process emerged amongst the banks. clearing associations were formed by the banks in the presidency towns and the final settlement between member banks was effected by means of cheques drawn upon the presidency banks. with the setting up of the imperial bank in 1921, settlement was done through cheques drawn on that bank. after the establishment of the rbi in 1935, the clearing houses in the presidency towns were taken over by the rbi, and continued with it for more than five decades. it is noteworthy that the volume of paper - based clearing we handle is the sixth largest in the world and during the year april 2007 to march 2008 about 1. 46 billion cheques were cleared in the country. the total number of cheques cleared and the value during the last three years in india are as follows : type volume ( in billion ) value ( rupees in lakh crore ) ( april – march ) 2005 - 06 2006 - 07 2007 - 08 2005 - 06 2006 - 07 2007 - 08 total cheques of these : a ) micr b ) non micr 1. 29 1. 37 1. 46 113. 29 120. 42 133. 96 1. 03 1. 14 1. 22 94. 74 104. 35 115. 29 0. 026 0. 023 0. 024 18. 55 16. 07 18. 67 in the wake of financial sector reforms, the maturing of the banking system and the rising volume of paper - based clearing, the rbi has now adopted a policy stance of moving away from the actual management of retail payment and settlement systems. thus, for a few years now, the task of setting up new micr - based cheques - processing centers has been delegated to the commercial banks. the management of clearing houses also stands decentralised to a large extent and in many cities and towns, the commercial banks have been entrusted with the management of the bankers ’ clearing houses. just to provide an overview, let me mention for record that at present, there are 1089 bankers ’ clearing houses operating in india, of which 1036 are managed by state bank of india and its

t rabi sankar : reserve bank of india and fintech - the road ahead keynote address by mr t rabi sankar, deputy governor of the reserve bank of india, at the moneycontrol india startup conclave, bengaluru, 7 july 2023. * * * good morning to all i am delighted to be present here at the india start - up conclave. all of you represent the best of the indian entrepreneurial spirit and it is my privilege to be addressing this gathering. india is one of the fastest growing large economies today, our population is young and adequately skilled, the policy environment is supportive of private enterprise, our capital markets are capable of funding good business ideas, the india stack - the envy of the world - all these factors have allowed many start - ups to bloom thereby creating a robust indian start - up ecosystem. fintech entities comprise a large part of this start - up ecosystem. the emergence of fintechs fintechs are transforming financial services across sectors, including credit, payment systems, wealth management, investment advice, insurance, financial inclusion, and even financial sector supervision. the covid - 19 pandemic has given a strong boost to digitisation - the fusion of technology and finance played a crucial role by facilitating smooth loan disbursals, robust 24x7 payment systems, uninterrupted access to financial services, and direct benefit transfers. new and innovative technologies brought by fintechs are helping in driving down cost, refocussing products and services and improving customer reach and experience. the ongoing developments, innovations, and emergence of new technologies will significantly shape the trends in the financial world of tomorrow. as a principal regulator of the financial system and with a mandate for ensuring financial stability, the rbi is closely watching the fast evolving world of fintechs. in fact, to provide necessary support to the nascent sector, more than a year ago, we had set up a fintech department to give dedicated focus to this sector and to foster innovation. i will take the opportunity today to share with you, how, we in the reserve bank, view the changes in the financial services space, caused by absorption of new and innovative technologies and the resulting issues like regulatory level playing field, consumer protection, innovation, and central bank digital currencies ( cbdcs ). regulation and fintech we believe that the fintech sector will play a crucial role in achieving objectives of greater financial inclusion, cost and time efficiency and so we