Indepay Empowers Rural Banking With Biometric Technology In North East India

Online, February 3, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Indepay Networks, an enabler of Rural Payment Infrastructure, launched its RBI guidelines based Banking Correspondent (BC) program for Tripura State Co-Operative Bank Limited (TSCB) today. The program was inaugurated by Hon'ble Minister for Rural Development, State of Tripura, Sh. Jitendra Chowdhury, at Kalachara Gram Panchayat.

Indepay, a payment processor, is enabling benefits of Rural Programs such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (MGNREGA) to reach the rural masses through innovation in payments technology. By extending its infrastructure to the last mile in the rural areas, Indepay through the use of biometric technology, is ensuring that benefits of governmental programs reaches the people it is intended for.

The State of Tripura, with an annual NREGA allotment of over INR 500 crores, has close to a million MGNREGA beneficiaries who receive employment through the program. In addition to MGNREGA beneficiaries the state has a further quarter of a million beneficiaries of National Old Age Pension (NOAP), Social Security Pension (SSP) and other similar programs. Indepay with its biometric enabled, UID compliant MicroATM infrastructure is addressing these opportunities through partners such as TSCB by leveraging its nationwide rural payments infrastructure.

The program, which was successfully piloted for over a year at certain branches of TSCB in North Tripura, is being scaled throughout the State through the disbursement of Biometric enabled smart cards to MGNREGA beneficiaries, starting with Kalachara and Manubazar branches in Satchand block. Indepay completed the enrollment of all MGNREGA beneficiaries in North and South Tripura Districts through enrollment camps held at each panchayat with the help of over hundred trained enrollment agents supported by the respective District Magistrates and Block Development Officers (BDOs) and the necessary State machinery.

According to Hon Minister Shri Jitendra Chowdhury, who inaugurated the program, "Infrastructure of the Indian banks is rapidly expanding and the visible benefits of ICT in day-to-day banking are well known. Common man is becoming quite used to ATMs and internet banking etc, are gradually finding its acceptance. RBI has been placing a lot of emphasis on financial inclusion covering no-frill accounts, rural bank branches, BC/BF models etc. Further, many pilot projects have been initiated in various States using smart cards for opening & operating bank accounts with biometric identification at people's doorsteps. Here, in Tripura, we are at the forefront of such advances with programs like UID and BC models being deployed on a statewide basis. Indepay have deployed manpower to make you equipped with the technology so that you can encash your money as per your requirement in North and South Tripura district and it will benefit the NREGA beneficiaries."

"Tripura State Co-operative Bank, in furtherance of fulfilling its social responsibility of ensuring faster inclusive growth of weaker and poor sections of the society, wishes to extend banking services to the identified beneficiaries of the MGNREGA through the Business Correspondent like M/s Indepay Networks Pvt. Ltd, by opening of no-frill accounts and by issuance of a biometric enabled smart card in the name of the beneficiaries through which the benefits of MGENREGA are to be passed to them," said Sh Haripada Chakrabarty, Hon President, TSCB, who presided over the funciton. Adding to Sh Chakrabarty's statement, Sh S. K. Saha, Managing Director, TSCB added that "The bank will also extend financial assistance such as small credit to fulfill other credit needs of the beneficiaries and other banking services, micro insurance, financial products and non-financial services as may be required by the beneficiaries / card holders through its wide network of branches / offices in the State through the Bank's duly appointed Banking Correspondent(s) as per the guidelines of the RBI."

Krishan Sujan, Director, Indepay Networks, said that "Indepay has carried out extensive evaluation of Rural Banking systems and plans to address the problems associated with last mile infrastructure, connectivity in rural locations and the issues related to citizens being non-literate and non-numerate through its innovative infrastructure offering. Indepay wishes to enable and operate, an extended Rural banking Branch in each village and panchayat in the state where banking services will be extended to each citizen of the state within a few kilometres of their residence as per RBI guidelines for the BC model. This infrastructure will also help to act as points for sourcing Rural Credit and Micro Housing Finance for the citizens of the state in addition to including the unbanked into the Banking system. Indepay has made significant investments in the state and plans to deploy real time, online, UID enabled infrastructure throughout the state and make Tripura a model state for the rest of India to follow. The Indepay ecosystem of BCs will enable non-financial services such as Rail/Air Ticketing, Utilities Bill Payments including Electricity, Telephone and Municipal Taxes in addition to airtime recharge making the BC model viable and scalable through the state of Tripura as they have done in other states"

Tripura State Co-Operative Bank

Tripura State Cooperative Bank was registered under the Tripura State Cooperative Societies Act, 1358 in 1957. The bank has 44 branches & Extension counters all over the state. Tripura State Govt. is the major share holder of the bank and being the Apex Bank of the State, TSCB has its full time commitment to rural economy and has the highest CD Ratio in the State.

Indepay Networks Private Limited

Indepay Networks is a third party payment processor and enabler of Rural Banking, Micro Credit and various Non-Financial Services that touch the common man in their daily lives and makes their lives change for the better.

Indepay operates a nationwide financial payment and transaction processing business that includes comprehensive point-of-sale services, card issuance and master merchant acquiring services for debit/prepaid/credit cards, rural banking, government disbursements, electronic distribution of content, money transfer and utility bill payment services.

Indepay enables infrastructure for banks to offer rural banking and access at village level on a sustainable model. Indepay infrastructure is placed at rural and retail outlets and allows the retail of content services, Public Call Office (PCO) services, card payments, distribution of financial services, remittances and basic/rural banking services across the counter

Indepay has setup operations in various parts of Tripura with a State Level office in Agartala. Indepay have employed over 100 personnel to take care of State wide operations where we are carrying out enrolment programs for NREGA beneficiaries for the State Co-Operative Bank.