Sahil Kini, co-founder of fintech firm Setu, which was bought by Pine Labs, has been appointed as CEO of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, media reports said.

Kini will replace Rajesh Bansal, the founding CEO of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub. Bansal, who completed four years at the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub earlier this year, drove initiatives such as the Swanari program focused on enhancing financial access to women.

In his new role, Kini will be responsible for expanding the hub's partnerships, product pilots, and research across areas like inclusive credit, fraud detection and digital infrastructure.

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, which was set up in 2022 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was started with an aim to promote innovation across financial services and support public-private collaboration around digital infrastructure.

Kini, an IIT Madras graduate, was previously co-founder of fintech infrastructure provider Setu, which was bought by Pine Labs for $70-$75 million in 2022.

Prior to this, he had co-founded Magnet Works, which built both hardware and software for the industrial internet.

Kini was also part of the core IndiaStack team, where he focussed on product innovation and policy. He also had stints at McKinsey, Ezetap (as product manager), which was bought by Razorpay, and Titan.