Like other payments banks, IPPB will target financially excluded
customers such as migrant workers, low-income households and tiny
businesses. It will not lend money and, as a result, will be shielded
from the risks that conventional banks are exposed to. And it will have a
huge offline presence to complement its online one, for which the
department of posts has already identified a core banking solution (the
software that runs banks).
The department of posts was among the 11 entities that got an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start a payments bank. Three entities have surrendered their licence after they discovered the business is characterized by high volumes and low profit margins. For India Post, though, the business will be a natural extension.
India Post already accepts money from customers as part of its post office bank accounts and long-term deposit schemes such as National Savings Certificate. Its money order service is widely used by migrant workers to remit money back home.
It will also not have to gain trust of customers like its competitors, especially in the rural areas, as the local postman is still an integral part of the day-to-day lives of the rural populace.
The department of posts was among the 11 entities that got an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start a payments bank. Three entities have surrendered their licence after they discovered the business is characterized by high volumes and low profit margins. For India Post, though, the business will be a natural extension.
India Post already accepts money from customers as part of its post office bank accounts and long-term deposit schemes such as National Savings Certificate. Its money order service is widely used by migrant workers to remit money back home.
It will also not have to gain trust of customers like its competitors, especially in the rural areas, as the local postman is still an integral part of the day-to-day lives of the rural populace.
On Wednesday, the cabinet approved a proposal to set up IPPB with a
corpus of ` 800 crore. Communications and information technology
minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said IPPB has plans to open 650 branches
and will be operational by September 2017.
“IPPB will be a game changer for rural and suburban India. We had initially planned to roll out operations in three years. But the Prime Minister has given us a challenge to start operation in a year’s time. All grameen dak sevaks in rural post offices will be given hand-held devices by March 2017 and by September 2017, all 650 branches of postal payments bank will become operational,” Prasad said.
The payments bank will begin with ` 400 crore equity capital and ` 400 crore as grant from the government. IPPB plans to set up 5,000 automated teller machines as well, he added.
N.C. Saxena, former secretary of the erstwhile Planning Commission, said that financial institutions are sensing the potential that IPPB has in terms of its connectivity and reach.
“In today’s digital era, telegrams and post cards are no longer used. But India Post has a vast infrastructure already in place and a very good rural network. Besides the 1.5 lakh post offices, they also have a network of temporary post offices—basically one-person post offices— that take care of the last-mile connectivity in rural areas,” he said, adding that financial institutions both in the private and public space cannot hope for a partner with a better reach in rural areas.
“But the post office payment bank will have to quickly move to an online platform to make it easier for customers to access their accounts and conduct transactions,” Saxena said.
“IPPB will be a game changer for rural and suburban India. We had initially planned to roll out operations in three years. But the Prime Minister has given us a challenge to start operation in a year’s time. All grameen dak sevaks in rural post offices will be given hand-held devices by March 2017 and by September 2017, all 650 branches of postal payments bank will become operational,” Prasad said.
The payments bank will begin with ` 400 crore equity capital and ` 400 crore as grant from the government. IPPB plans to set up 5,000 automated teller machines as well, he added.
N.C. Saxena, former secretary of the erstwhile Planning Commission, said that financial institutions are sensing the potential that IPPB has in terms of its connectivity and reach.
“In today’s digital era, telegrams and post cards are no longer used. But India Post has a vast infrastructure already in place and a very good rural network. Besides the 1.5 lakh post offices, they also have a network of temporary post offices—basically one-person post offices— that take care of the last-mile connectivity in rural areas,” he said, adding that financial institutions both in the private and public space cannot hope for a partner with a better reach in rural areas.
“But the post office payment bank will have to quickly move to an online platform to make it easier for customers to access their accounts and conduct transactions,” Saxena said.
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