Lending’s API moment in India
When we talk to banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) across India, it’s obvious that lending is taking the lead as the new frontier for digital innovation. Earlier, that distinction belonged to the payments ecosystem, driven by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) revolution.
The digital lending landscape is now evolving fast due to regulatory changes, account aggregators, and infrastructure frameworks like IndiaStack. IndiaStack, in particular, has given over 1.42 billion Indians a verifiable digital identity that acts as the first building block of digital lending.
While UPI payment transactions have hit record highs in 2025, the real game-changing innovations are happening in how credit is delivered. With 89% of Indian adults owning a bank account, and the financial inclusion index rising to 67, the foundation for digital credit has never been stronger.
APIs are now taking digital lending to a whole level by bridging lender systems with government databases, account aggregators, credit bureaus, and other third parties. Data flows seamlessly across this value chain, speeding up credit decisions and loan approvals.
Know-your-customer (KYC) verification which used to take days when done manually, is now wrapped up in minutes, thanks to APIs and other digital tools. This enables both large lenders and agile fintechs to scale up quicker, and launch new lending products with confidence.
Breaking lending silos: The rise of open API ecosystems
In our local NBFC projects, we’ve seen how scattered data such as loan files, credit histories, and cash flows can greatly hinder digital lending. This is where third parties such as account aggregators help. They take on the work of collecting, assembling, and synthesising customer financial data from multiple sources, using APIs.
Thus far, over 223.32 million customers have linked their accounts on the account aggregator framework, allowing for secure, consent-based sharing of financial information. Borrowers can share GST returns, transactions, and even utility bills with lenders for straight-through loan processing. Credit approval decisions are now almost instantaneous, as lenders use APIs to integrate and combine data into a richer customer risk profile.
APIs in action: A real-world use case
Leading educational loan provider, Eduvanz, uses APIs built on MuleSoft to automatically route loan applicant data for KYC verification, underwriting, credit scoring, and decisioning.
The APIs connect around 120 systems, including the external UIDAI database, NSDL interface, and payment gateways, as well as the internal loan origination and CRM platform, customer apps, and business rules engines.
Data flows seamlessly across these systems, speeding up loan origination. First-time borrowers can now get a loan in less than 10 minutes, repeat borrowers in less than two.
Credit for the credit-invisible
Account aggregators help resolve one of India’s biggest lending challenges – i.e., a lack of visibility into the credit worthiness of borrowers who don’t have a formal credit history.
Banks and NBFCs are increasingly leveraging account aggregator APIs and Financial Services Cloud to power inclusive lending:
- Automated data aggregation:
Instead of struggling with lengthy paperwork and physical document verifications, lenders can automatically aggregate financial data on each borrower through API flows orchestrated using Mulesoft Anypoint. These channels provide real-time access to the borrower’s GST returns, cash flows, and transactional patterns – all of which can be used to replace or supplement traditional credit scores. - Dynamic, rule-based credit decisioning:
With Financial Services Cloud, borrower data from various sources is combined into a unified view. Lenders can then configure business rules that consider both traditional and alternative credit data sources such as utility payments and GST receipts to process the borrower’s credit worthiness. This helps accelerate loan disbursal, while minimising manual intervention. - Personalised product offers:
With complete visibility into borrowers on Financial Services Cloud, lenders can easily personalise loan products. They can also tailor loan amounts and tenures to the borrower’s unique needs. Products can be structured with lower perceived risks even for customers who are new to the lending market. This is definitely a step towards genuine financial inclusion.
Strengthening lending partnerships through APIs
Using the API catalogues of different lenders, e-commerce marketplaces can seamlessly embed loan journeys for their merchants. Not only do these APIs run the lending workflow from end to end – they also feed loan and repayment data back into merchant dashboards for an up-to-date view of working capital.
Security and consent can be managed seamlessly through Salesforce Shield and Privacy Centre.
As these innovations are scaled up, market opportunities are also growing. India’s digital lending market is projected to surpass Rs 28 lakh crore by 2025.
Best practices for API management in lending
Here’s what to keep in mind when building and leveraging APIs:
- API reuse and documentation: Make sure that all exposed API catalogues – i.e., those APIs made available for partners to integrate with – follow OpenAPI standards. Use tools such as Swagger to define API specs, so that partners can easily build the code that connects to the API. These foundational design principles ensure that your API endpoints are interoperable, and can be consumed across different partners.
- Security in the stack: Check that every API is protected by OAuth scopes, encrypted payloads, and tested endpoints. Set up proper certificates for each partner during onboarding. Use Mulesoft Gateway or similar tools to ensure rate limiting.
- Consent-driven privacy: Ensure that customer consent is captured at all possible touchpoints, and properly synchronised across the landscape. Use tools such as Salesforce Privacy Centre to seamlessly manage consent for each individual.
- Innovation sandboxes: Provide sufficient sandboxes in your API catalogue for partners to integrate with easily. Don’t reuse sandboxes across partners or environments (e.g., development and quality assurance), as this could risk data security.
API risks — and how we at Salesforce address them
Trust is a core value at Salesforce. It’s also a top concern for every lender looking to go digital. Here are some key risks to mitigate when using APIs
| Risks | Recommended actions |
| Unauthorised access | Secure your IT Applications and API endpoints with proper access controlsImplement the principle of least privilege across applicationsSecure data using proper encryption mechanisms like Salesforce ShieldSecure APIs using strong authentication methods such as OAuth or token-based accessImplement proper IP allow-lists for internal systemsEnable real-time API monitoring using event monitoring and transaction security policies |
| API downtime | Make sure your APIs stay available by establishing backup endpoints, and controlling traffic Automatically increase computing capacity by adding more servers or boosting server power when API traffic peaks Implement rate limiting to avoid resource monopolisation by one vendor or end point |
| Fraud (synthetic identities, account takeover) | Set security policies to detect session hijacking, and implement measures to block compromised sessionsUse machine learning analytics and adaptive risk scoring to reduce fraud risk |
| Regulatory compliance and data privacy | Simplify regulatory compliance through products such as Salesforce Shield and Privacy Center Establish processes to handle data subject access requests (DSAR) in a timely manner. |
Success metrics in digital lending
With Salesforce, lenders have experienced compelling results: :
- 25% reduction in loan processing time
- 2x increase in volume of loan applications processed per month
- 83% reduction in customer onboarding time
- Successful completion of customer privacy engagement and regulatory compliance audits
- Positive trends in customer trust and satisfaction
Defining the next decade of lending together
API democratisation in Indian lending is no longer simply an idea but a reality. Salesforce partners with banks, NBFCs, fintech companies, and regulators to make lending more secure, accessible, and compliant.
Ready to see how Salesforce’s API capabilities work in a real-world setting?
