Press Information Bureau,
Government of India
Ministry of Communications &
Information Technology
30-January, 2017 18:27 IST
India Post Payments Bank will be a game changer for financial inclusion -
Manoj Sinha
IPPB branches launched in Ranchi &
Raipur
Finance
Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley and Minister of Communications Shri Manoj
Sinha launched the operations of the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)
here today as two pilot branches at Raipur and Ranchi through video
conferencing from Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Jaitley
said that about 650 IPPB branches will be opened by September this year
and that will have a multiplier impact as far as banking in India is
concerned. He said with IPPB, banking at the doorstep will no longer
remain a mere slogan, but will become a reality due to huge postal
network in the country. He said that financial Inclusion is critical for
the socio-economic development of the country, but there are
significant gaps in this area and a large proportion of country’s
population remain unbanked or underbanked. IPPB will effectively
leverage the ubiquitous post office network with its pan-India physical
presence, long experience in cash handling and savings mobilization,
backed by the ongoing project of IT-enablement, to bridge this gap in
Financial Inclusion.
In his address, Minister of Communications
Shri Manoj Sinha has commended the hard work done by the Department of
Posts in setting up the India Post Payments Bank and hoped that both
organizations will work in tandem to take the benefits of government
schemes and financial services that are not easily available in rural
areas to customers across the country and to the marginalized population
in urban and rural areas alike. He said, the objective of IPPB will be
public service rather than promoting commercial interests.
Secretary,
Department of Posts, Shri B.V.Sudhakar said that the IPPB is widely
expected to be a game changer for financial inclusion in the country as
the USP of this initiative is doorstep banking, particularly in the
rural areas.
As mandated by the RBI, the India Post Payments Bank
(IPPB) would focus on providing basic financial services such as all
kinds of payments; including social security payments, utility bill
payments, person to person remittances (both domestic and cross-border),
current and savings accounts up to a balance of Rs 1 lac, distribution
of insurance, mutual funds, pension products and acting as business
correspondent to other banks for credit products especially in rural
areas and among the underserved segments of the society.
Set up
us a 100% Government of India owned Public Limited Company under the
Department of Posts, it will open around 650 branches in district HQ
locations. All 1.55 lacs post offices including the 1.39 lac of the
rural post offices will be mapped to the IPPB branch at the district
headquarter and function as access points for IPPB. IPPB will usher in
state of the art internet and mobile banking platforms, digital wallets
and use innovative and emerging technologies to catalyse the shift from a
cash dominant to a less cash economy.
While many other banks and
financial institutions are working on the same theme, the USP of IPPB
will be its ability to ease access and handhold the adoption of new age
banking and payments instruments among citizen of all walks of life
through the delivery by postmen and Grameen Dak sevaks, savings agents
and other franchisees who will take banking to door steps. IPPB thus
aspires to the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the
common man with the motto - "No customer is too small, no transaction
too insignificant, and no deposit too little".
Given 'in
principle' approval by the RBI along with 10 other aspirants on 19th Aug
2015, IPPB received the cabinet’s approval on 1st June, 2016 and was
incorporated as on 17th Sept, 2106. Today it became the second payments
bank to launch its operations. Having got its final banking license from
the RBI on the 20th Jan 2017 it has commenced operations in record time
of 10 days in partnership with the Punjab National Bank, after
obtaining all necessary approvals and registrations from the RBI, NPCI
etc.
A commemorative stamp and a logo of the new bank were also launched on the
occasion.
