SEBI Crackdown Disrupts BFSI Festive Marketing Plans and Influencer Strategies

The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)’s recent crackdown on influencers, just a month before the festive season, is expected to impact the marketing budgets of BFSI brands, according to industry experts. Brands that were negotiating with influencers are now re-evaluating their choices and conducting multiple rounds of due diligence. “In the short term, we expect BFSI brands to proceed cautiously to avoid violating SEBI rules,” said Kalyan Kumar, CEO of influencer marketing company Klug Klug.

Previously, The Advertising Standards Council of India had imposed regulations on the BFSI sector, requiring influencers to clearly disclose their association with financial products, services, or brands they promote. These disclosures must be prominently displayed for easy audience visibility.

Kumar noted, “While earlier regulations had some ambiguities, it’s much clearer now—finfluencers can educate but not advise. So, using finfluencers to directly onboard consumers is now off-limits. This will lead to a short-term reduction in spending.”

Experts point out that festive season marketing plans are typically made well in advance. Shradha Agarwal, Co-founder of Grapes, shared that the news has disrupted BFSI brands' influencer marketing plans. Finance influencers who relied on this work for their livelihood will be particularly affected. Although her agency’s fintech clients are continuing with their plans, they are also closely monitoring regulatory changes. She mentioned that marketers lack clarity on the new rules.

Currently, marketers face several questions: What are the next steps? Who qualifies as a finfluencer—someone with a certain number of followers or a specific engagement level? What are the financial implications? What about barter deals? “There is still a lot of grey area,” said Agarwal.

Aabhinna Suresh Khare, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer and Head of Strategy at Bajaj Capital shared examples of how unregistered influencers have impacted the industry. “Consumers often say they’ve heard from influencers about guaranteed returns, which we can’t endorse.” He emphasized that no one moderates the risk for the client when such deals are made.

Khare believes the new regulation will bring more order to influencer marketing. Bajaj Capital allocates around 7-8% of its digital advertising budget to influencer marketing, with 30% of that going to finfluencers. The company’s festive marketing plans will be adjusted more in terms of content than spending. “Going forward, the content has to change, and we will be selective about whom we onboard,” he said.

Future Expectations from Finfluencers and Brands

Agarwal suggested that brands and influencers might adopt new methods to cope with the regulation. One approach could be posting content without sponsored links, and maintaining a low profile. Another could involve brands collaborating with fintech journalists to create listicles comparing schemes, making the content appear more organic.

To manage the festive season, brands might use pre-crackdown influencer deals, presenting the content as pre-shot. Agarwal also expressed concern that startups might not comply with the regulation, assuming they won’t be caught.

Experts are now questioning SEBI’s capacity to monitor compliance. Agarwal highlighted the challenge, noting that without a comprehensive monitoring system, tracking thousands of influencers is difficult. “If they don't have a war room to track every influencer, every mention of a startup or a brand name or any keyword, I don't know how they will do it. And there are so many ways of just putting up a video without making it noticed in the caption,” she concluded.