HDFC Bank ltd on Friday opened its first ‘one-person’ branch in Chhattisgarh. The rural one-person mini branch will offer the full range of world-class banking solutions to meet the needs of the local population of about 2,800 who have hitherto had no access to formal banking services. The branch is located in the unbanked village of lohardih in the Mahasamund district of the State. It will remain open six days a week, offering residents the flexibility to carry out their banking transactions at the time most convenient for them. The Bank has approx 33% branches in unbanked locations in the State, a bank press release issued here on Friday stated.
The branch was inaugurated by US Paliwal, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India and Dr Sanjeev Sharma, Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India in the presence of Sunil Panjwani, Circle Head, HDFC Bank and other senior officials of the bank. HDFC Bank is reaching out to more people across India through its mini-branches. These new-format branches have been especially created to service the unique requirements of the rural customer and to allow HDFC Bank to go further into unbanked areas of the country, it stated.
A mini branch is designed to be cost-effective by maximising efficiency of space, infrastructure, technology and processes. It works closely with the nearest large branch, operating as hub and spoke to cater to a particular geography and ensure that all products and services are made available to customers. HDFC Bank has also leveraged technology to provide banking services through multiple digital channels such as net banking and mobile banking. HDFC Bank is today reaching out to the people of lohardih through its new one-person branch complemented by initiatives under its ‘Go Digital’ campaign, it stated.
Speaking at the launch, Sunil Panjwani, Circle Head, HDFC Bank said: “The growth of our network in Chhattisgarh reiterates our commitment to support inclusive growth and take banking services to every part of India. With the mini branch format, we are able to offer rural customers our full-range of products through a viable model without compromising on the quality of our service offering.”
At a national level, HDFC Bank has 56% of its branches in semi-urban and rural areas and is continuously extending its reach in the hinterland in its endeavour to support inclusive growth.With this launch, HDFC Bank now has a network of 70 branches across Chattisgarh. As of December 31, 2014, the Bank had a distribution network with 3,659 branches and 11,633 ATMs in 2,287 cities/towns.
The Bank has made significant headway in its multichannel servicing strategy in Chhattisgarh, providing customers the use of its complete range of products and services. It offers, under one roof, products ranging from basic services such as Savings Account, Fixed Deposits, Current Account, Two-wheeler loan, Auto loan, Commercial Vehicle loan, Kisan Gold Card, Agri and Commodities loans to direct access banking channels such as, PhoneBanking, NetBanking and International Credit and Debit Cards.