Spice Route Legal
Ruchika Jha
Education
What Ruchika brings to the table
Ruchika Jha is a Senior Associate – Designate with the Technology in Banking and Open Banking practice groups at Spice Route Legal. Her core areas of expertise include open banking, account aggregator ecosystem and digital financial infrastructure.
Ruchika works closely with fintechs, account aggregators, and regulated financial institutions on navigating India’s evolving financial regulatory landscape. She has significant experience advising on open banking frameworks, the account aggregator ecosystem, and digital public infrastructure, and frequently assists clients with licensing, regulatory strategy, and the structuring of commercial arrangements and technology partnerships.
Her practice also includes structuring and negotiating a wide range of commercial and technology contracts that underpin digital financial services. With practical experience engaging with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Ruchika regularly assists clients in responding to regulatory queries, aligning business models with regulator expectations, and scaling operations in a compliant and commercially sustainable manner.
Representative matters:
- Advised a leading self-regulatory organisation for Account Aggregators on structuring its membership agreement framework with banks, including the design of its governing council, decision-making processes, and evaluation criteria for Financial Information Providers (FIPs), Financial Information Users (FIUs), and Account Aggregators (AAs).
- Advised a leading provider of digital infrastructure for identity verification, e-signing, and the collection of recurring payments on the necessary documentation, policies, and corporate governance framework in relation to its application for a licence to undertake the business of open banking.
- Advised the world’s leading financial data aggregator on redesigning its technological infrastructure, data storage, and encryption mechanisms, triggered by the scrutiny of the regulator during the pendency of a licence application.
- Assisted a platform that enables financial institutions to facilitate transparency and innovation with its AA licence application and liaising with the RBI during the pendency of the licence.
Awards
