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).
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) board has approved liberalised part withdrawals for subscribers, allowing up to 100 per cent EPF withdrawal, and rolled out the 'Vishwas Scheme' to reduce litigation through rationalised penal damages.
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.
All 'grameen dak sevaks' in rural post offices will be given handheld devices by March 2017.
It will carry out most banking operations like accepting deposits but can't advance loans or issue credit cards.
More than five lakh aspirants will take the exam on January 7 and 8, 2017.
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
The government will introduce a new Income Tax bill next week to take forward the "trust first, scrutinise later" concept, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. In another major reform move, the minister announced that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the insurance sector will be increased to 100 per cent from 74 per cent.
'The dakiyas will be our partners, receiving credit proposals from micro-enterprises at the grassroots level.'
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.
There was such a rush that more counters were opened outside the GPO building, under the open sky, he added.
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.
India Post Payments Bank and Unique Identification Authority of India under an arrangement will allow postmen to update mobile numbers of Aadhaar cardholders. The service will be available through a network of 650 India Post Payments Bank, 1.46 lakh postmen and Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS).
Group term insurance is far more cost-effective than an individual cover.
The Indian Post Payments Bank will be a boon to Indians who live in rural areas. India has 154,000 post offices, of which 139,000 are rural.
The Chhattisgarh government has decided to set up model fair-price shops (FPS) in each district and encourage owners to act as banking correspondents for providing financial services. The state has around 12,300 fair-price shops across 33 districts. The state government is, however, encouraging FPS owners to provide a host of services besides acting as a banking correspondent.
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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.
The vertical will be based out of Bengaluru.
Unlike any other national asset, which is typically sold to the highest bidder, the profile of the bidder is the most important criterion for a licence to bank, and even for acquiring more than 5 per cent stake, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
He said while the previous UPA government hid the bad loans, his government has properly recognised them and brought tough laws to deal with defaults and recovery money.
The race to get a New Umbrella Entity (NUE) licence for digital payments may get crowded. As many as six consortiums are said to be in the fray to apply for an NUE licence, which would create a for-profit National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-like body for retail payments. A consortium led by Financial Software and Systems (FSS), a leading provider of payment products and payment processor, is in talks and may file an application to the RBI for an NUE license, said sources aware of the development. The other constituents of this group include Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, India Post Payments Bank, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), and a few small finance banks.
Mastercard is keen on being known not as a payments player but a technology company.
Key questions remain about the operational and financial viability of a completely paperless bank such as India Post, says Mayank Jain.
Priyadarshini Maji evaluates the impact that payment banks are likely to have on your financial life.
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.
Stating that pushing GDP growth, which has slipped to 5-year low of 6.8 per cent in 2018-19, is the top priority, President Ramnath Kovind said Modi govt will bring more reforms and raise farm investments to boost growth.
The firm chooses UP for payments bank launch in February. Karan Choudhury reports.
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