Nandan Nilekani has argued that India's Account Aggregator framework must evolve beyond its current use cases if it is to become a meaningful engine of financial inclusion for the country's self-employed workforce. Speaking on the need for a more expansive digital credit architecture, the Infosys co-founder said the system should be designed to help gig workers, street vendors and other informal earners establish a credible financial profile that lenders can use to assess repayment capacity.
The remarks come at a time when India's digital public infrastructure is increasingly being viewed not just as a payments backbone, but as a platform for formalising access to credit, insurance and savings products. The Account Aggregator system, which enables individuals and businesses to securely share financial data with regulated lenders and other financial institutions, has been positioned as a privacy-preserving alternative to traditional document-heavy underwriting. Nilekani's intervention suggests the next phase of that system will depend on whether it can capture the economic reality of workers whose incomes are irregular, cash-heavy or spread across multiple sources.
Broader Credit Access
Nilekani's central argument is that formal credit should not remain out of reach for people whose livelihoods fall outside conventional payroll structures. Street vendors, delivery workers, small traders and other self-employed earners often lack the salary slips, audited statements or long credit histories that banks typically require. As a result, many are pushed toward informal borrowing, where costs are higher and repayment terms less predictable.
He said the Account Aggregator framework could help close that gap if it incorporates a wider range of financial signals, including transaction histories, business cash flows and other verifiable data sources that better reflect how informal workers actually earn. In practical terms, that would allow lenders to move beyond blunt proxies and make more nuanced decisions about creditworthiness.
The policy significance is substantial. India's informal economy remains vast, and mobility-linked occupations such as app-based delivery, last-mile logistics and roadside commerce are deeply embedded in urban life. Yet these workers often remain invisible to the formal credit system. A more inclusive data-sharing framework could lower the cost of underwriting for lenders while expanding access for borrowers who have historically been excluded.
Data For Informal Workers
The challenge, however, is not only technical. Nilekani also stressed the need for a sustainable business model for Account Aggregators, indicating that the framework cannot scale on policy intent alone. For the ecosystem to mature, intermediaries must be able to operate profitably while maintaining trust, compliance and user consent standards. Without that, adoption may remain limited to a narrow set of use cases rather than becoming a mass-market financial utility.
That point is especially relevant as India seeks to deepen formal credit penetration without compromising consumer protection. The Account Aggregator model is built on consent-based data sharing, which is meant to give users control over who accesses their information and for what purpose. But for self-employed workers with thin files, the value of the system will ultimately depend on whether lenders, fintech firms and data providers can integrate it into products that are simple, affordable and widely available.
For the automotive, EV and mobility sectors, the implications are indirect but important. A large share of the workforce supporting urban mobility — from drivers and mechanics to delivery riders and roadside service providers — operates in the informal economy. If Account Aggregators can help these workers access working capital, vehicle finance or emergency credit, the effect could ripple across mobility supply chains and small-business ecosystems.
Nilekani's comments also reflect a broader shift in India's digital finance debate: from building infrastructure to ensuring that infrastructure reaches the last mile. The next test for the Account Aggregator framework will be whether it can translate consent-based data access into real-world lending outcomes for people who have long been underserved by formal finance. If successful, it could become one of the most consequential tools in India's push toward a more inclusive digital financial system.