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Women's co-op bank to use CBS at its branches

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BS Reporter Mumbai/ Ahmedabad
Micro-finance institutions (MFIs) too have been bitten by the technology bug. The Ahmedabad-based Shri Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank (SEWA Bank) aims to install the Core Banking System (CBS) at its branches.
 
The bank has tied-up with the Mumbai-based biometric enabled smart card solutions provider Financial Information Network & Operations Ltd (FINO).
 
FINO will install and maintain the CBS which has been architectured for SEWA Bank based on I-flex application & HP hardware. A seven-month-old company, FINO presently caters to half a million customers. "We expect to cater nearly 25 million customers over the next five years," said Manish Khera, CEO, FINO.
 
The company would be charging SEWA Bank Rs 30 per customer for the solutions.
 
SEWA Bank would be the first MFI to install such a system for its banking operations. Meanwhile, Khera is in talks with some co-operatives too for providing such solutions in Gujarat.
 
"Our customers would now be able to do their banking from several branches in the city. Since a majority of them are daily wagers, even the transport cost till their branch is huge. With the smart card system, which will store their details, the customers will no more have to remember their account numbers and other details," said Jayshree Vyas, MD, SEWA Bank.
 
Presently, the bank caters to around three lakh women, while Vyas plans to reach a target of one million in the next three years.
 
The bank is also planning to come up with more branches in the city and also mobile branches for rural areas, added Vyas.
 
The bank which serves women from poor and BPL backgrounds, now provides loans to maximum amount of Rs 50,000.
 
"In the 1970s, we were lending around Rs 50 and now we have moved to Rs 50,000 with a capital of Rs 100 crore at our disposal," said Vyas adding that the rate of default has been at an all-time low of 3-4 per cent.

 
 

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First Published: Mar 30 2007 | 12:00 AM IST

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