All 'grameen dak sevaks' in rural post offices will be given handheld devices by March 2017.
Fino Payments Bank (Fino) has become the first such entity to get an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to transition into a small finance bank (SFB).
It will carry out most banking operations like accepting deposits but can't advance loans or issue credit cards.
The Department of Posts was one of the 11 entities to get the in-principle nod from the Reserve Bank of India in 2015 for setting up a payments bank.
The IPPB, which is currently running pilot services in Raipur and Ranchi, needs a go-ahead from RBI for the software used for system integration
More than five lakh aspirants will take the exam on January 7 and 8, 2017.
Payments banks have urged the Union finance ministry to increase their deposit limit for each account to Rs 5 lakh, according to a source who participated in a meeting, chaired by the Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju, in New Delhi. At present, they can accept deposits of up to Rs 2 lakh.
The vertical will be based out of Bengaluru.
The board is likely to take up the matter this month.
India Post may be keen to apply for payment bank licence.
According to sources, the postal bank will tie up with other banks and financial companies to offer products like loans, mutual funds, and insurance policies to its customers.
Payments banks are expecting to get the rights to offer small-ticket loans sometime soon, according to an industry source familiar with the matter. The industry has been in talks with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for some time in seeking lending rights.
The amount involved in banking system frauds surged to Rs 21,515 crore in the first half of FY26, up 30 per cent from the same period last year, even as the number of frauds fell 2.8 times to 5,092.
Priyadarshini Maji evaluates the impact that payment banks are likely to have on your financial life.
Moving beyond digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the operator of Unified Payments Interface, is planning to add more muscle to the country's digital infrastructure by setting up a fourth subsidiary, NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd (NTSL).
Vijay Shekhar Sharma has stepped down as part-time non-executive Chairman of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), and the board of the bank has been reconstituted. The Reserve Bank has barred the PPBL from accepting deposits and credits from any customer post-March 15 for persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank. PPBL has reconstituted its Board of Directors with the appointment of Ex-Central Bank of India chairman Srinivasan Sridhar, retired IAS officer Debendranath Sarangi, former executive director of Bank of Baroda Ashok Kumar Garg, and former IAS officer Rajni Sekhri Sibal, Paytm said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
Mastercard and Visa are introducing passkeys that will allow users to authenticate card payments with face scans or fingerprints, eliminating the need for one-time passwords (OTPs).
While payments banks surely lose money, their operating ratios were looking better in 2017-18 compared to the year before. This implies that as customer volumes start picking up, the business models may perk up too, says R Jagannathan.
Focus to be on unbanked areas; initial capital is set at Rs 100 crore; India Post can apply.
The idea of the payment banks is to provide access to banking for people, especially in rural areas.
This would imply a 29 per cent year-on-year rise, significantly lower than growth rates seen in recent years.
The RBI has created a stunted business model by which payment banks are supposed to shoulder the noble objective of financial inclusion without being able to make much money.
Vodafone Idea, the promoter of Aditya Bira Idea Payments Bank, said in a notification to the exchanges late on Friday that the board of the bank approved winding up the business, subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India.
Bharti Airtel aims to leverage its 180 million plus digital service customers and its wide presence in rural areas to grow its payment bank business. "We are well placed as we can leverage the 180 million plus customers we have across our digital assets. "We offer a plethora of services such as lucrative interest rates, gift cards, FASTag, telecom recharges, payments and debit cards. "Our large merchant base of more than eight million allows us to drive both engagement and monetisation.
Non-resident individuals (NRIs) have also been allowed to apply for the niche banking licence, provided they plan to return to India.
Taxpayers should consider ITR-U if they omitted income, wrongly claimed deductions or exemptions, or made reporting errors that led to a shortfall in tax payment.
'Our focus would be to onboard top 100 merchants in top 10 different segments.'
Currently, only three have completed more than six months of operation in the space - Fino Payments Bank, Airtel Payments Bank and Paytm
Payment banks may not be viable option to attain financial inclusion.
Key questions remain about the operational and financial viability of a completely paperless bank such as India Post, says Mayank Jain.
Rediff explains why the system, not the Budget, is the problem.
Each postman has undergone a three-tier training process, after which they were evaluated by the National Institute of Banking and Finance and given certificates.
This single amendment, unfortunately, overshadows much of the Budget's promise, explains Harsh Roongta.
Experts contend that this setback, even if temporary, could put the company at a disadvantage to its competitors in acquiring new customers.
India posted a current account surplus of $13.5 billion or 1.3 per cent of GDP in March quarter 2024-25 as compared with $4.6 billion in the year-ago period mainly on account of surge in services exports and higher remittances, according to RBI data released on Friday.
'This marks a turning point for Paytm, with the regulatory environment looking much clearer than it has been in the last two years.'
The RBI has flagged concerns over rising volatility in gold prices and advised lenders to exercise caution in the gold loan segment.
The previous largest weekly decline was recorded in the week ended November 15, 2024.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
In August, RBI allowed 11 business houses to start a payments bank.
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