India Post Payment Bank

India Post Payment Bank

Subject : Economy

Section: Banking

Context:

Doorstep banking services are now available in every village according to the India’s Post report.

Details:

• About 1.90 lakh Postmen and Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) have been trained to serve as mobile bankers-providing Doorstep Banking Services.
• India Post Payment Bank-IPPB is one of the single largest platforms providing interoperable doorstep banking services to any bank customer

Concept:

India Post Payment Bank-IPPB

• It was set up by the government as a public limited company under India Post in 2016 to improve the common man’s access to basic financial services, especially in unbanked and under-banked areas.
• IPPB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Department of Post, with 100 percent Government of India equity.
• It is a payments bank of the Indian postal department which will work through a network of post offices and nearly 3 lakh postmen.
• IPPB’s Vision
  • Building the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man.
  • Spearheading Financial Inclusion- agenda for under-banked populace.
    • As of December-end 2021,Ninety per cent of its customers are from rural areas.
• It is governed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• While its services will be available to all citizens, the IPPB will primarily focus on serving social sector beneficiaries, migrant labourers, un-organised sector, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Panchayats, low-income households, in rural areas and the unbanked and under-banked segments in both the rural and urban areas.
• Services offered:
  • savings/ current accounts,
  • money transfer,
  • virtual debit cards,
  • bill payments,
  • Aadhaar Pay service for merchants,
  • life and general insurance.
• Cash withdrawal from any account (AePS), cash deposit to any account (direct money transfer), and payment by cash towards bills, insurance premiums and loan EMIs are some of the services offered by IPPB to customers of other banks. 
• Channels for delivering services will include:
  • Counter operations
  • ATMs/micro ATMs
  • Doorstep, mobile and internet banking
  • Pre-paid instruments such as mobile wallets, PoS, MPoS, etc.
• Functions of IPPB
  • It will accept deposits, offer remittance services, mobile banking and third-party fund transfers.
  • It offers 3 types of saving account:
    • Regular Account – Safal,
    • Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) – Sugam and
    • BSBDA Small – Saral
  • The maximum limit on deposits for current and savings accounts is Rs 1 lakh.
  • The bank offers a 4 per cent interest rate on savings accounts.
  • They can issue debit cards and ATM cards, but they cannot issue credit cards and cannot loan money.
  • It will provide social security payments like MNREGA wages, direct benefit transfer and give access to third-party services insurance, mutual funds.
  • IPPB account holders will be issued a QR Code based biometric card with a unique QR code.