Jaipur : Fino Payments Bank, which has a large network of over 5000 Emitra pointsin Rajasthan, transacted business of around Rs 145 crores in the month of April, of which 90% (around Rs 130 crores) are withdrawals. The Emitra points with Micro ATM and Aadhaar enabled payment system (AEPS) devices helped customers withdraw cash conveniently.
Mohan Lal, a 25-year old panchayat member of Salawad village in Jhalawarruns an Emitra outlet, a Government of Rajasthan initiative to provide efficient and convenient delivery of citizen services. In addition to Salawad, Mohan provides banking services to customers of 7 other neighbouring villages as there is no bank in the vicinity of over 20 kms.
It is because of this network consisting of people like Mohan Lal, people and especially beneficiaries of various government schemes are finding it convenient to withdraw cash without any hassles. Most importantly, his shop is open till late hours and Mohan is always available on call to provide cash.
Rajasthan’s poor are dependent on the funds of various state and central government direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes including Bhamashah, Palanhar, PMJDY, Jan Aadhaar, LPG subsidy and pension. The beneficiaries receive amount ranging from Rs 500 to up to Rs 2000 in their bank accounts.
In a normal day before lockdown, Mohan used to get more than 100 customers, transacting business worth close to Rs 2 lakh. This includes saving deposit, remittance, withdrawal, bill payment and mobile recharges. Now there is a slight dip in number of customers he services at his shop as well as during his village visits, with over 95% of them withdrawing cash.
Terming emitra points as critical for cash availability, Darpan Anand, Senior Divisional Head, Fino Payments Bank said, “Our vast network of over 5000 emitrapointspresent in all the districts of the state have facilitated cash withdrawal of around Rs 130crores of DBT payments in April. More than 95% are Aadhaar enabled payment system (AePS) transactions. Our merchants deliver cash at the doorstep of elderly and pensioners, a service that is highly appreciated by customers. In May we expect to service more customers as we have on-boarded over 400 Emitra points in April.”
