In a bid to enable digitisation, IDFC Bank has announced the installation of more than one lakh points-of-presence (PoP) in the next two years.
The Mumbai-based private lender has planned to set up 30,000 micro ATMs and 75,000 Aadhaar Pay merchant points, reported The Economic Times.
“We are creating an ecosystem that will transform the digital payment landscape,” said Rajiv Lall, managing director of IDFC Bank.
“It will digitise transactions across all retail customer segments -those with a smartphone but new to digital, the feature phone and phone-less population. We will do this by deploying micro ATMs, establishing ePDS (Public Distribution System) and Aadhaar Pay merchant points, through fintech partnerships and acquisitions,” he added.
“The plan envisages coverage of 250,000 villages across 300 districts to serve nearly one crore customers,” said Lall.
The bank currently has about 7,000 points-of-presence, including branches, ATMs, micro ATMs, e-PDS outlets, Aadhaar Pay merchant points and the network of Grama Vidiyal Microfinance, it had acquired last year.
The 30,000 micro ATMs will be installed in rural and unbanked locations and will be placed at fair price shops and panchayat offices, among others.
In the pilot phase spanning three months, more than 1,500 merchants across 16 states have enabled digital transactions for customers of all banks, using IDFC Aadhaar Pay on their smartphones.
