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Showing posts from January, 2015

The launch of Junior RuPay Debit Cards

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             Now, school students can have access to exclusive RuPay debit cards. This would have been unthinkable a few years ago.             The rollout of the RuPay cards by NPCI has made this possible.             Pragathi Krishna Gramin Bank – an amalgamation of erstwhile Pragathi Gramin Bank (Sponsored by Canara Bank with Head Office at Ballari) and erstwhile Krishna Grameena Bank (Sponsored by State Bank of India with Head Office at Gulbarga.             The amalgamated bank has its Head Office in Ballari. The amalgamated bank has physical presence with 632+ branches spread over 11 Karnataka Districts.             Pragathi Krishna Gramin Bank is the first Regional Rural Bank (RRB) and one among a few commercial banks in the country to launch a new initiative of introducing banking to schoolchildren.             The highlights of this initiative are: 01) The bank will distribute Junior ATM Rupay Debit Cards to schoolchildren above 10 years of age, int

SBI Quick – The Brand name for SBI mobile enquiries

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             By now all banks in India offer the mobile enquiry service, through which the respective bank customers can get wide ranging information pertaining to their bank accounts through a MISSED CALL facility.             The process is simple to use and the response time is super fast.             Bank customers have to simple give a missed call or SMS to a specified mobile number to receive specific information.             The chief motivating factor for this service is that the MISSED CALL is free of cost. The information is received as a SMS which is saved in the phones memory.  This acts as a record for the requested information.             SBI is on a spree to launch technology based services for its customers. SBI Quick is one more service which is delivered through technology.             The core differentiator here is the Sub-Brand name. No other bank in India has thought to give a brand name to its mobile enquiry service. Way to go, State Ba

SBI brands its passbook printing kiosk as ‘Swayam’ – 5 Usage Tips

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             State Bank of India has forayed into the world of passbook printing kiosk. Yes, we Indians trust banks passbooks.             Bank passbooks are in integral records of the financial health of the respective bank account. The main drawback of account statements on banks website is the time frame of old entries.             The Passbook has the advantage of viewing transactions from the account opening date in bank supplied stationery.             Pass Book kiosks in Indian banking have been around for the last couple of years. However, the key differentiator is the branding for the passbook printing kiosks.                     No other bank in India has branded its passbook printing kiosks though majority of the banks have introduced them in branches and self services areas.             Read here a newspaper article on this launch. Swayam will be rolled out at more than 2,500 branches of the Bank. Customers can print their passbooks of Savings, R

Kumbh Mela 2015 @ Nashik-Why there should be no ATMs in the Mela Area

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             Nasik will host the 2015 Kumbh Mela . Over 30 million visitors are expected to visit the Mela area during the 2 months Mela period. The value of commercial transactions will range from INR1 to INR10,000/-, with the average transaction expected around INR500.             The mela visitors would mainly be interested in lodging, boarding and puja articles. Donations are another area where cash will play a major role.             5 Reasons why there should be no ATMs in the Mela Area 01) Cost of installation is high. Mobile ATMs are an option, but the same too have to be mounted on trucks with adequate safety. 02) Operating cost is high 03) Refilling cost is high 04) Attraction for anti-social elements. 05) Promote Cash transactions If NO ATMs, than what is the alternative? The Alternative is CHOTA ATM a)     Chota ATM has the capability to handle both cash withdrawals and bills b)    Installation cost is nominal c)     Operating cost

Gyan Sangam Ripple-Electronification of Bank Payments in India

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             The word ‘Electronification’ refers to conversion of a paper based transaction to an electronic transaction.             The paper can be physical cash or a banker’s instrument like Cheque/Demand Draft.             As a step towards Safe Transactions, India's  Central Vigilance Commission way back in 2004 has advised all institutions under its jurisdictions to switch over to ECS/EFT mechanism instead of payments through cheques/demand drafts.             One of key takeaways for Public Sector Banks from Gyan Sangam 2015 is to digitize top 30 processes of the banks.             In the top 30 process, one process which has to be included is processing payments to Vendors/Suppliers/Agencies/Utility Providers.             The whole processing cycle can be digitized. As this process exists in all the Banks, it will be feasible to adopt a common processing platform.             This will also be a forerunner to assist their customers to move from pape

Axis Bank@Gyan Sangam

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             By now the proceedings of Gyan Sangam 2015 would have been over.   Peer recognition in any field is a valuable feedback tool.             At Gyan Sangam 2015, one of the innovative Indian Banking products taken up for discussion was “Axis Bank - the Mobile Youth account Retail banking Product design based on life insights”             Axis Bank launched this project way back in November 2012. At that time, this product was way ahead of its similar products.             7 Innovative features of the Axis Bank Mobile YOUth Account 01) The target group is 18-25years i.e Youth who have just entered college and are willing to try out new features. 02) Personalized images on Debit Cards. This feature was later adopted by many Indian Banks. 03) Personalized Debit Card offers linked to their lifestyle 04) Mobile to Mobile Transfer. Way ahead of its time, YOUth account holders could transfer funds to other Axis Bank accounts just by keying the registered