NEW DELHI,
DECEMBER 7:
The e-mail may have replaced the snail-mail
but India Post has survived the numerous obituaries written for it and become
much sought-after once again on the strength of its unmatched network.
After being pursued by e-commerce firms for
logistics and other support, the country’s oldest postal service provider is
now being wooed by banks and insurance companies as it gears up for a debut in
the payment banking business. The list of those keen to tie up with India Post
includes marquee names like SBI, Bajaj Alliance, IDBI, YES Bank, HDFC and Axis
Bank.
There are 17 such banking and insurance
companies who have shown interest to use the postal network for delivering
their services such as EMI collection and insurance.
According to government sources, these companies
want to use the postal network by partnering with the India Post Payment Bank,
which got licence from the RBI recently.
Sources close to the development toldBusinessLine that
SBI could be the first bank to join hands with the Postal Department. “SBI chief
(Arundhati Bhattacharya) and Kavery Banerjee, Secretary, Department of Posts,
had a meeting recently and they discussed to work hand-in-hand for providing
services to customers,” an official said.
Both the heads — of the largest bank and
postal networks — discussed how they can leverage each other’s strengths and
help extend financial services to the disadvantaged, the official added.
“There was a discussion also on how a
postman can work as a bank agent in far-flung rural areas where neither a bank
branch nor a bank agent can go for verification of loans. But with the Postal
Department’s help, farmers and students can get loans (for
agriculture/education) without much hassle,” the official said.
ATMs at post offices
The official said the government is also
working towards banks installing ATMs at post offices; the Department of Posts
has a network of 1.55 lakh branches across the country and more than 85 per
cent are in rural areas.
But it is evident that the banks are
gung-ho about tying up with the Postal Department as they will only stand to
benefit. “This initiative will play a pivotal role in bringing a large number
of uninsured segments of the country under the safety net and improving the
penetration of insurance in the country,” said TA Ramalingam, Chief
Distribution Officer, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.
A tie-up with payment banks like The India
Post will provide insurers an opportunity to distribute retail insurance
solutions such as personal accident and health insurance policies to their huge
customer base, he said.
“This will also enable insurers leverage on
the payment bank’s strong distribution network to take insurance solutions to
the unrepresented segments in the country, especially in tier-III cities and
villages,” he added.
(The Hindu : Business Line ::This
article was published on December 7, 2015)
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