25/07/2016
Chennai GPO may be first T.N. post bank
Chennai General Post Office (GPO) is likely to be first
post bank in the State to be launched early next year. The Department of
Posts is planning to set up ‘India Post Payment Banks’ (IPPB) using the
postal network to provide banking services to people.
Aimed
at providing access to banking services to people particularly in rural
areas, the IPPB will provide a range of services, including direct
benefit transfers and facilitate various payments like old age pension
and government subsidies. The vast network of post offices would be used
to eventually even deliver the payment at the doorstep of customers.
Officials of the postal department said such post banks would function
as separate entity and function according to the guidelines of Reserve
Bank of India.
Mervin Alexander, postmaster General
(Chennai city region), said, “Payment banks will deal with money
remittances of all kinds to people. This could be useful to people
particularly in rural areas who have limited access to banks. But, it
will not provide loans. However, savings schemes and deposits will
remain under post offices at this point of time.” Earlier, core banking
network solutions and postal ATMs were started as part of an initiative
to provide banking services at post offices.
Net
banking and mobile banking will be the next step towards reinventing the
postal services according to the changing trend. The department has
also announced a competition for logo design and tagline for the
proposed IPPB. The tagline should not exceed eight words either in
English or Hindi and the best entries will be awarded with a cash prize
of Rs.25,000. The last date of submission is July 31.