Private lender Axis Bank has initiated ‘Digi-Prayas’ to ensure financial literacy to about 80000 people across the country.This initiative aims to make people well informed with financial tools, especially in rural areas.
The bank promoted this step in a bid to observe the Digital Financial Literacy week promoted by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
As a part of this initiative, the bank enables support to the population in 24 selected villages of India and aims at making them financially educated and digitally informed by adopting and being active on various modes of digital banking like mobile, UPI and USSD based banking.
“As part of the program, Axis Bank is also setting up a digital banking ecosystem comprising business correspondents, EDC/POS devices, micro ATMs in these villages. The project aims to impact 80,000 lives by active participation in digital modes of financial transactions,” an Axis Bank official said.
The program would comprise activities like hosting awareness sessions and workshops on digital modes of financial transactions, educating citizens about government’s policies and digital banking options available to them.
The bank will also provide training to citizens so that they can access and use electronic payment systems (EPS) such as IMPS, UPI, Bank PoS machines etc and enable merchants in the villages to use Electronic Payment Systems like UPI, PoS terminals, etc.
“So far we have already educated over 2 lakh people across India through financial literacy camps. Digi-Prayas is a three-month focused programme which targets to impact 80,000 people by training them on using various modes of digital banking,” said the Bank.
The bank has been conducting several financial literacy camps under its project ‘Pragatishala’ in the past and plans to continue the same across 600 rural branches.
These camps have covered total 2, 18,041 rural people in 15,240 financial literacy camps during FY 16-17.
“Axis Bank’s ‘Digi-Prayas’ intends to impact the population which is yet to make the digital journey by educating them about the benefits of digital banking and a less cash economy. Initiatives like these will empower our citizens and help them to transact in a faster and secure environment,” said Nuti Chakravarthy, Regional Distribution Head-North, Axis Bank
