With the Reserve Bank of India harping on digital banking expansion in a big way, it has decided to include two more districts in Odisha for electronic banking.
Official sources said Ganjam and Sambalpur districts have been included in the expansion programme of Digital Banking and Deepening of Digital Payments Ecosystem.
In fact, newer technology has paved the way for electronic banking and the penetration of the new mode involving faceless transactions has become quite common.
ATMs, cash dispensers, NEFT, RTGS, credit cards and debit cards etc. have became terminologies which no longer needed explanation for a general customer.
Systems and procedures to regulate such transactions, safety norms, consumer protection and grievance redressal mechanisms were put in place to address the downsides and also develop public trust. While earlier, Cuttack and Balangir districts were included in Digital Banking Ecosystem, now Ganjam and Sambalpur have been selected for such an exercise, said sources in the Department of Finance.
While the risks involved in digital banking transactions are very much real, but the overall benefits, the image of those long queues, hours of waiting and delayed remittances negate the whole thought of branch banking unless absolutely needed.
In fact more and more people are opting for digital banking. Take for example, in Balangir total digital coverage is 99.99 percent for individual Savings Bank (SB) accounts. Similarly, digital coverage for
business in opening Current Account is 99.76 per cent. Similarly in Cuttack, digital coverage for individuals in opening SB accounts is 98.77 per cent and for business in opening Current Accounts is 98.4 percent. Looking at the successful digital operations, the RBI has recently allowed expansion of digital banking operations in Ganjam and Sambalpur, said sources.
While in Ganjam, Lead Bank, Union Bank of India will work out the programme of expanding and deepening Digital Payment Ecosystem, the Punjab National Bank will do the job in Sambalpur.
In fact, the Government of India is harping on financial inclusion and expansion of banking infrastructure. However, banks are seen reluctant in opening brick and mortar bank branches.
The Odisha Government has been repeatedly harping on the fact that though there are 6,798 gram panchayats in State, but only 1/3rd of them have brick and mortar branches.
The Department of Finance is pursuing physical branches though expansion of bank branches is tardy. In this backdrop, digital banking ecosystem has come handy.