Indian Economy News

India Post Payments Bank's customer base crosses 5 Crore Mark

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a 'Digital-First Bank' built on the rails of India Post's wide physical distribution network under the Ministry of Communication, Government of India, has announced a major milestone since its inception towards achieving its financial inclusion goals through digital banking, which was dubbed the country's largest financial inclusion initiative by the Prime Minister at its launch.

Today, IPPB revealed that it has surpassed the five-million-customer threshold in just three years of existence, making it one of the country's fastest growing digital payments banks.

The IPPB established these five crore accounts in a digital and paperless manner through its 1.36 lakh Post Offices, 1.20 lakh of which are in rural regions, are supported by about 1.47 lakh doorstep banking service providers. By using the strength of 2,80,000 Post Office employees, IPPB has created the world's largest digital financial literacy programme by creating a financially conscious and empowered client base. IPPB has also asserted that it has extended digital banking to the grassroots level by utilising the Interoperable Payments and Settlement Systems of NPCI, RBI, and UIDAI, which provide services in over 13 languages.

Surprisingly, roughly 48% of overall account holders were female, while 52% were male, indicating the Bank's concentration on recruiting female clients into the banking network. Approximately 98% of women's accounts were opened at their doorsteps, and over 68% of women received DBT benefits. In yet another milestone, the IPPB revealed that it had enticed young people to use digital banking services. Over 41% of account holders were between the ages of 18 and 35.

Shri Vineet Pandey, Secretary, Department of Posts, stated, “At India Post, we are committed towards becoming one of the largest financial inclusion networks in India, covering both urban and rural India. Reaching to five crore customers in a short span of 3 years speaks of the success of this model of providing cost – effective, simple, easy and secure digital ecosystem, particularly to rural India. We are happy that we could empower rural women too, to avail the banking services at their doorsteps.”

Shri J. Venkatramu, MD & CEO, India Post Payments Bank said, “It is a moment of pride for the Bank, as we have moved from strength to strength while building this customer base while providing uninterrupted banking and G2C services even during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Bank is able to scale its customer acquisition on a fully digital and paperless banking platform serving people at their doorstep. The bank is committed to serve the rural, under-banked and unbanked citizens through collaboration & co-creation of suitable products & services.”

With this perspective, the IPPB has been able to utilise the Department of Posts' parental power and is steadily reforming and reshaping the financial inclusion landscape across the country. In the near future, we intend to establish a unified service platform that would provide various citizen-centric financial services, including credit, at the doorstep by using India stack components such as JAM, Sahmati, and others.

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) was founded under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication, with the Government of India owning 100% of the stock. On September 1, 2018, the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the IPPB. The bank was founded with the goal of being India's most accessible, affordable, and trusted bank for the average man. The IPPB's primary mission is to remove barriers for the unbanked and underbanked and to reach the last mile by using the postal network. IPPB's reach and operational strategy are based on the key pillars of India Stack, which enable Paperless, Cashless, and Presence-less banking at the clients' doorstep in a simple and safe manner via a CBS-integrated smartphone and biometric device. IPPB delivers easy and affordable banking solutions with intuitive interfaces available in 13 languages, leveraging frugal innovation and a strong emphasis on convenience of banking for the public. IPPB is committed to accelerating the transition to a cashless economy and to contributing to the vision of Digital India. India would develop when every individual has an equal opportunity to achieve financial security and empowerment. Every customer is important, every transaction is significant, and every deposit is valued, as our motto states. Visit www.ippbonline.com for more information on the IPPB.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.