Banking on a bike, laptop and a data card -- after the success of its crorepati branch, One rupee accounts and banking for youth, State Bank of India has come up with another path-breaking concept, 'Bank on Bike', to reach the unbanked villages and to achieve its rural financial inclusion target in a much faster way in Andhra Pradesh.
Said to be the first-of-its-kind by any bank in the country, SBI's 'Bank on Bike' service was launched on a pilot basis in Cheriyal village in Medak district on Friday.
The banking transactions would be done at specified kiosks in the villages. The kiosk and the timing for the banking would be fixed, and the assigned correspondents would cover three villages in a day, spending two hours in each village.
"Every village has the potential of 200-300 accounts. We have already opened 10 accounts through this kiosk. We plan to cover 400 villages by March 2011," said Shiva Kumar, deputy managing director, SBI.
"We are planning to cover around 50 per cent of the 1,381 villages in 23 districts, which were given to us by the state government under the financial inclusion plan, through the 'Bank on Bike' kiosks," he said. It chose bike over van for its cost-effectiveness.
The bank would review the pilot project, and depending on the success, the service would be expanded to other villages. "The main focus is to reach our target of 1,381 villages by March 2012 through different models, and so far we have covered 40 villages in four districts," Kumar said.
SBI has tied up with geosansar, an initiative of Mainstream Solutions and Education, for the customer service point and for the functioning of the kiosks. Geosansar would appoint banking correspondents (BC) from among kirana shop owners, medical shop owners, retired teachers and government employees. In some places, the bank would appoint independent individuals as BCs.
SBI would train and pay the correspondents on per transaction and accounts opening basis.
"Identity theft is not possible here, as every account holder will be given biometric cards and transactions would happen by taking their finger prints," he said.
SBI's Kohinoor Banjara Premium Banking Centre, the country's first branch for high networth individuals and requires a minimum of Rs 1 crore to open an account, is running in profits, according to Kumar. "The branch has opened 95 accounts and has done Rs 140 crore worth of business in just three months from its launch," he said.
SBI's Rs 1 branch for the urban poor has opened 30 kiosks and 30,000 accounts. The youth branch would be opened by March 2011 at Jubilee Hills.
