Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) on Saturday with a vision to offer doorstep banking to all the Indians and drive financial inclusion.
Through this service, Indian postal department will take banking to the doorstep of every citizens and the unmatched network of post offices with the help of almost 3 lakh postmen and ‘Grameen Dak Sewaks’ will achieve the target.
IPPB will offer similar banking services like any other bank but its operations will be available on a smaller scale without involving any credit risk. It will not be advancing loans or issue credit cards, however, it will accept deposits.
The bank will accept deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh, offer remittance services, mobile payments/transfers/purchases and other banking services like ATM/debit cards, net banking and third-party fund transfers.
According to the government’s official communiqué, IPPB will have 650 branches and 3,250 access points spread across the country. All the 1.55 lakh post offices will be linked to the IPPB by 31 December 2018, said Centre.
IPPB has been set up under the aegis of the Department of Posts and will be offering products and services via a bouquet of channels such as counter services, micro ATMs, mobile banking app, messages and interactive voice response.
The bank will leverage technology-based platforms into its services. It will use Aadhaar to open accounts, QR card and biometrics will help it in driving authentication, transactions, and payments. Grameen Dak Sewaks will be trained in technology and provided with smartphones and biometric devices to handle transactions.
It will be offering savings account at four percent interest rate. The bank has also joined hands with Punjab National Bank and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance for third-party products like loans and insurance.
