ICICI Bank, the largest private sector lender in the country, today said it has opened 101 gramin branches across six states as part of its financial inclusion plan that aims to provide banking services in unbanked villages.
These gramin branches will offer all the basic banking services such as savings bank account, fixed and recurring deposit, remittances, credit cards and tractor loans. They will also service business correspondents. The branches will remain open six days a week.
"Financial inclusion is the bedrock on which the edifice for an inclusive social and economic ecosystem can be built. While the task of bringing the 1.2 billion population within the fold of banking is indeed daunting, it is as much an opportunity for the banks. I feel that brick and mortar branches, as delivery point for banking services, would continue to play a critical role for at least next 20 years," KC Chakrabarty, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said while inaugurating one of the bank's gramin branches at Khatwa, a village in Rajasthan.
Following the opening of these gramin branches, ICICI Bank now has a network of more than 400 rural branches and 5,000 customer service points, which together serve more than 10,000 villages across India.
The gramin branches were opened today in 19 districts across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. All these branches have been opened in small villages that so far did not have any banking facility.
"ICICI as a group has always recognised the potential of rural India and the importance of inclusive growth. We have always tried to take a holistic approach to providing financial services in rural and remote areas, which includes credit, savings, investments and insurance products," Rajiv Sabharwal, executive director of ICICI Bank, said.
"In line with this approach, we have launched 101 gramin branches...ICICI Bank has also opened close to 2 million no-frills savings accounts this year taking the total number to around 12 million no-frills accounts, which is a key part of our financial inclusion strategy," he added.
The bank is also engaged in electronic benefit transfers for disbursement of wages to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers and the Social Security Pension beneficiaries.
The bank also launched the Saral Money Prepaid Card along with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The card can be used to deposit or withdraw money from various customer service points using finger print authentication.
The card allows people to carry out financial transactions without a bank account. The Saral Money Prepaid Card will also be used to receive government subsidies and benefits.
