Ratnakar Bank inks deal with AGS Transact Technologies

Ratnakar Bank has entered in to an agreement with the AGS Transact Technologies. According to the agreement AGS technologies will install ATMs for the lender and will also provide with technology based solutions for banking, retail, petroleum and postal sector.

The Head of Ratnakar Bank (Direct Banking Channels) Mr. Ritesh Rai said "The ATM deployment is a part of our plan towards aggressive expansion in the country. We have been looking for a strategic partner to help us with this objective. AGS' expertise in ATM management will help us in gaining a strong foothold and increasing our network."

President and CEO of AGS Transact technologies Mr. Sunil Udupa said "We have been servicing 10,000-plus ATMs through our state-of-art 24X7 command center that gives confidence to our customers. With this, we believe we can add great value to the bank's initiatives."

Banking for lower class made easy through AEPS

The National Payment Corporation (NPCL) has partnered with three banks and has launched Aadhar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) Project. The project is aimed to make banking process easier for the poor and less educated population in the country. The Business Correspondents have a major role to play in the implementation of the project.

Under this project, the customers will be able to withdraw or deposit cash, make balance enquires and they will also be able to transfer funds through Business Correspondents by using their UIDs

NPCL defines this facility as “a bank-led model, enabling online financial inclusion transaction at PoS or point of sale, or the MicroATM, through Business Correspondent (BC) of one bank for customers of another using Aadhar Authentication.”

Through this project NPCL will give a boost to the Financial Inclusion Plan as it will make easy to access their account for the no-frills account holders in the remote areas of the country.

The project is made functional in various districts of Jharkhand, where UIDs have been allotted. The three banks that are involved with this project are ICICI Bank , Union Bank of India and Bank of India.

Banks to be rewarded for every no-frills account opened

To encourage the banks to open more and more no-frills accounts and to boost the Financial Inclusion Plan, Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee during his budget speech proposed to give Rs 140 to the respective bank for every no-frills account opened.

Mr. Mukherjee said "Financial support to the banks for opening 'no frills' accounts under Swabhiman Scheme as part of Financial Inclusion Plan Rs 50 crore (Budget estimate for 2011-12)."

No-frills accounts are meant for the individuals that have very basic banking requirements as such bank account provide very limited services. He also announced the launch of ‘Swabhimaan’, a multimedia campaign to spread awareness and to encourage people to open bank account.