India Post Payments Bank activates 170 mn savings bank accounts nationwide
03 Sep 2018
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The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) was officially rolled out pan-India on Saturday, adding 170 million Post Office Savings Bank accounts to the active accounts in the banking system.
Holders of Post Office Savings Bank accounts can now make interoperable digital payments, including transfers under NEFT, RTGS, UPI and bill payment services. Additionally, the IPPB will enable acceptance of digital payments across post offices in the country in line with the digital payments initiative of the government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi at a function witnessed at over 3,000 locations across the country, which were connected to the main event in Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said that through the India Post Payments Bank, banking services will conveniently reach the remotest places in the country, and the people living there.
The union government had earlier rolled out the Jan Dhan Yojana to establish financial inclusion, Modi recalled, and said the launch of IPPB is another step to achieve this objective.
IPPB branches opened across 650 districts on Saturday.
The prime minister said the postman has long been a respected and accepted person in villages and the the trust on the postman remains, despite the advent of modern technology. He said the government’s approach is to reform existing frameworks and structures, and hence, transform them in accordance with the changing times. He said there are over 1.5 lakh post offices and over three lakh postmen or “grameen dak sevaks” who are connected to the people of the country. Now they will be empowered with smartphones and digital devices to provide financial services.
Enumerating the benefits of IPPB, he said it will enable money transfer, transfer of government benefits, bill payments and other services such as investment and insurance. He added that postmen would deliver these services at the doorstep. He said that IPPB will also facilitate digital transactions, and help deliver the benefits of schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, which provide assistance to farmers.
The Prime Minister said that since 2014, the Union Government has been dealing firmly with the distortions and problems that had arisen in India’s banking sector due to indiscriminate loan advances. He said existing loans have been reviewed and a professional approach has been taken with regard to the banking sector. He mentioned other measures such as the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, which have been taken to ensure that the guilty are punished.
