India Post to open payments bank with 650 branches
Friday, June 3, 2016
NEW DELHI: India Post, which already offers limited financial services through its 154,800 post offices, is also becoming a payments bank with 650 dedicated branches involving an investment of Rs 800 crore, officials said on Wednesday.
A meeting of the cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval to the proposal, following an in-principle approval by the Reserve Bank of India earlier.
Payments banks offer small savings accounts, as also remittances and mobile and net banking services, notably to migrant labour workforce, low-income households, small businesses and other unorganised sector entities.
They can also accept demand deposits up to a maximum of Rs 100,000 per individual customer, issue ATM/debit cards and act as agents for simple financial products like mutual fund units and insurance.
“The payments bank will be a game-changer in rural and semi-urban areas. It will help in our larger goal of financial inclusion,” Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the cabinet meeting.
“By September 2017, all 650 branches dedicated for postal payments bank will be operational.”
Source: The New Indian Express (link opens in a new window)
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