Fino 'BC Sakhis' push rural banking in UP hinterland

Lucknow

To mark the first anniversary of the Business Correspondent (BC) Sakhi project, Fino Payments Bank has felicitated 34 BC Sakhis or women banking agents for providing doorstep banking services in rural Uttar Pradesh (UP).

During the lockdown, along with Fino’s over 50,000 merchant points in UP, micro-ATM-enabled BC Sakhis provided doorstep banking services in the hinterland.

The BC template allows for convenient access to cash to the account holders, especially the elderly and the beneficiaries of direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes such as MGNREGA, PM Kisan etc.

According to UP additional chief secretary, rural development, Manoj Kumar Singh, nearly Rs 75,000 crore is transferred to the rural economy through the DBT medium annually.

Since the brick-and-mortar banking model could not be expected to be replicated in all the nearly 60,000 revenue villages in UP, the BC Sakhi model has been adopted to provide doorstep banking and also generate employment for educated rural women.

“Our strength is the pan-India distribution network of over 860,000 points, through which we offer customers access to a range of banking services. BC Sakhis complement our efforts by improving reach and increasing banking adoption in rural UP,” Fino Payments Bank COO Major Ashish Ahuja said here.

So far, Fino under the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission (UPSRLM) has already onboarded over 4,700 women out of the mandated 10,000 from Self Help Groups (SHG) across 11 districts in the state.

“In the 4,700 gram panchayats, the BC Sakhis are facilitating transactions worth around Rs 50 crore every month, which is quite encouraging. Soon, we will add another 5,000 Sakhis to further enable financial inclusion by taking digital banking closer to more people across UP,” Fino Payments Bank EVP and Head (Alliances & PMO), Amit Kumar Jain, said.

In addition to availing regular banking services like withdrawal, deposit and money transfer, customers can also buy health, life and vehicle insurance at Fino points, including at BC Sakhis. Customers can also pay utility bills, insurance premiums and loan EMI.

Recently, Fino’s name has been included in UP’s MGNREGA bank list to receive payments. The beneficiaries can open a Fino bank account to receive their funds, which they can withdraw at the BC Sakhi or Fino point itself, Jain added.

Meanwhile, the bank will soon introduce international remittances, Fixed Deposits and Recurring Deposits with partners, which the customers could avail of at the neighbourhood Fino point or BC Sakhi.