'With a very stable technology with limited functionalities, a large network has spanned out.'
"Banks have been exploring the feasibility of using mobile phones as an alternative channel for delivery of banking services. RBI has observed an increase in usage of mobile phones for banking transactions," minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena told the Upper House in a written reply.
At a time when banks are finding it challenging to mobilise resources, State Bank of India (SBI)-the country's largest lender-has devised a three-pronged strategy to boost deposit accretion. First is an aspirational product that promises to make depositors lakhpatis by helping them grow their deposits to Rs 1 lakh through recurring deposit (RD) schemes.
The country has come a long way in the process of financial inclusion, Raghuram Rajan said, but "still has a way to go".
Banking operations are likely to be hit hard on Friday as three employees unions have called for a nationwide strike to oppose outsourcing of services, demand recruitment of staff and one more pension option.
Banking operations including cheque clearance across the country got affected on Monday as bankers under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions have gone on a nationwide strike to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders.
Under the Goods and Services Tax, effective midnight of June 30, most of the financial services would attract a higher tax of 18 per cent as against 15 per cent as of now.
Lakhs of employees of public sector banks continued their strike on the second day on Friday as well to protest against proposed privatisation of banks by the government impacting normal operation across the country. Shutters of branches across many parts of the country on Friday were down following the strike call given by the United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions including All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW). As a result, services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals remains paralaysed due to the two-day strike ending later in the day.
'Within India, people want high-quality, personalised banking services, and the demand for such services has exploded.'
Will allowing business correspondents to hawk insurance products help in reviving 5-lakh strong field agents as a viable channel?
The staff of public sector banks had gone on a nationwide strike for two days beginning February 10 after discussions with the IBA failed.
Enterprising women business correspondents, known as BC Sakhis, have facilitated transactions worth Rs 27,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh, earning Rs 75 crore in commission over the past four and a half years. BC Sakhis, appointed under the nationwide women empowerment programme, are members of self-help groups (SHGs) who are trained and certified to provide banking and financial services in rural areas.
Professor Yunus is in New York, accompanied by young Bangladeshis who led the student uprising against Hasina, and the bon homie he shared with two US presidents, current and past, will add masala to the conspiracy theorists.
Banking services across the country are likely to be affected following a two-day strike call given by All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) from February 20, in support of their charter of demands.
HDFC Bank has launched mobile banking service on SMS for Reliance IndiaMobile customers, which will enable customers to see their account balance, get mini statements, fixed deposit details and make requests for cheque books.
Banking services across the country were hit on Wednesday by the day-long strike by 10 central trade unions and 14 bank unions, but workers of largest lender SBI and a few other banks stayed off the agitation.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday released draft guidelines for streamlining the onboarding and monitoring of Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) operators to counter frauds perpetuated through the ecosystem. Banks and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) are required to comply with these directions within three months from the date of issue of the guidelines.
As many as 140 million customers of HDFC Bank and Axis Bank are expected to face interruption in banking services in the weekend due to the former's system upgrade and the transition of Citi India business to the latter. Both the banks have notified their customers about the interruption in services. HDFC Bank - the country's largest private sector lender with 93.2 million customers - had announced that it will undertake a system upgrade on July 13, wherein it will migrate its core banking system (CBS) to a new engineered platform to enhance customer experience.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will launch the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) nationwide in due course, aiming to transform India's lending sector, similar to how the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) revolutionised the payments ecosystem, Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday.
Services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals would be affected due to the strike.
From connectivity woes to infrastructure advancements and the startup boom, there is a gulf between claims and reality in India's economic landscape, points out Devangshu Datta.
Fintech firm One97 Communications -- owner of the brand Paytm -- has shifted its nodal account to Axis Bank from Paytm Payments Bank. The move will allow continuity of Paytm QR, Soundbox, card machine after the March 15 set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as per a regulatory filing. The RBI has advised customers and merchants of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to shift their accounts to other banks by March 15, giving 15 more days to the beleaguered entity to close most of its operations, including deposit and credit transactions.
Cheque clearances and cash withdrawals and deposits in public sector bank branches across the country were hit as employees started a two-day strike on Monday to press for a revision in wages.
Every bank offers a different slab of minimum balance to customers, based on which 'free services' are provided
Ten trade unions to go on strike to protest against changes in labour laws
Statements of five 'Angadiya' firm operators have also been recorded by the ED to establish the "money trail" of this alleged Rs 45 crore bribe amount.
The ambiguity arose after notices were sent to lenders for non-payment of service tax under the pre-GST regime
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has started tightening the noose around tax evaders. This year, the department intends to profile banking and financial services, port services and business auxiliary services to pinpoint taxability of various components to enforce compliance. More services will be profiled in subsequent years.
The unions are opposing the government's move to take away the public debt management from the Reserve Bank and curtail its powers on the monetary policy.
Going by the RBI directive and the overall narrative, Paytm may have lost the rigour of stress tests, audits and compliance.
In all, 14 unions representing bank employees and officers will be supporting the day-long stir.
Assuming we still have a Modi-led majority government after May 2024, there is no guarantee that reforms will move at anything more than a snail's pace, though we must be thankful even for that, notes R Jagannathan.
Employees of public sector banks have gone on two-day nationwide strike on Wednesday opposing banking sector reforms and outsourcing of non-core activities, affecting operations.Several private sector banks, foreign banks and ATMs, however, continued to operate normally.
The ATRs have been sought on a range of matters within four weeks, the officials said.
It is a pity that he does not take his youth influencer role more seriously and align his brand endorsements more responsibly, notes Kanika Datta.
Changes in regulations and the imminent enforcement of some long-standing regulations are pushing up the cost for banks apart from the general cost inflation.
The UK government announced on Monday that it has facilitated London-based banking major HSBC to buy the embattled UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank for 1 pound, securing the deposits of more than 3,000 customers worth around 6.7 billion pounds. Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank - which specialised in lending to technology companies - was shut down by US regulators on Friday in what was the largest failure of a US bank since 2008. According to experts, although the UK arm of SVB was small with only around 3,000 business customers, its collapse would have presented a risk for the tech sector which is seen as crucial to Britain's economic growth.
With the merger between HDFC Bank and HDFC Ltd complete, analysts said the next key monitorable for the Street would be successful resolution of merger-related hiccups, including employee-related churn and roll out of complete banking services across branches. At the bourses, they expect the stock to perform in-line with the benchmark indices in the near-term. "There's usually an initial period of consolidation after a merger as the entities work towards integration.
The embassy, however, said certain disruptions in Russian banking services, as well as direct flight connectivity to India, have been reported and Indian students may consider returning home if they have concerns over these aspects.
