A step towards Financial Inclusion : SBI's Customer Service Point at Taroda in Wardha district.....

A step towards Financial Inclusion: SBI's Customer Service Point at Taroda in Wardha district.....

Taroda, a small village in Aarvi block of Wardha district is on the threshold of complete  financial services. The 800 odd houses in the village will now have a Customer Service Point set up by the Sate Bank of India which will be providing a whole host of services.
On my visit to Wardha, the District Mission Manager Swati Wankhede was her bubbly self as she took me to the village.
MSRLM works for the empowerment of women through self help groups. Financial inclusion is an important aspect and it has trained community women as Bank Sakhis and Financial Literacy CRPs. Wardha has about 200 such women who are being promoted as Business Correspondents of banks like IDFC and SBI-CSP. Wardha district has established inter operable Micro- ATM points engaging Bank Sakhis, VO accountants and other cadre which act as the last mile financial access points to a large number of under-banked and un- banked population, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas. These micro ATM offers public financial access infrastructure; wherein customers can withdraw amounts under various DBT program using either their Aadhaar number linked Bank account (AEBS) or using their uPay/Visa/MasterCard debit card, through any IDFC bank interoperable Micro ATM points or Umed – SBI CSP (Customer Service Point). It give accesse to withdraw their wages for MGNREGA, pension under NSAP, subsidy for LPG or payment of electricity bills and basic financial services using their Aadhar linked bank accounts/ ATM Cards. Wardha already has 4 SBI-CSP centre.
I had the fortune of inaugurating the customer service point at Taroda village which is almost 12 kms away from the branch of State Bank of India.
I was welcomed by Banjara women wearing traditional costume and jewellery and was told that a large number of people from the Banjara community were residents of the village. As a part of the welcome, I was also made to wear the traditional headgear. The women sang a welcome song in the traditional Banjara dialect. It conveyed the  social message about the importance of education. They also sang laurels about the contributions of Shri.Vasantrao Naik, the fourth Chief Minister of Maharashtra who belonged to the Banjara Community. It was truly inspiring to hear them sing in unison. Thereafter we proceeded to inaugurate the customer service point.
Ms.Ranjana Jadhav, Banking Correspondent (BC) eagerly waiting for me with her computer, printer and the operating system.
She explained to me that the centre would cater to 22 financial services.
These included opening a new bank account, withdrawal and deposit of money using Aadhaar card, money transfer, fixed deposit, R.D.Account, Atal Pension Scheme, insurance schemes like PMBSY, PMJJY, payment of utilities like electricity bill, purchase of train ticket or air ticket purchase and GST Registration.
She was really excited to have this opportunity and was well prepared as she studied upto Standard 12th.
SBI had provided her with the necessary training for the same.
She took great pride in demonstrating one deposit and withdrawal of cash transaction. She said it was safe as it was aadhaar enabled with biometrics and took us through the steps of identification and verification. Account holders of SBI could withdraw or deposit money upto Rs.20,000/- . The account holders of other banks had a limit of Rs.5,000/-. A transaction fee of one percent or Rs.10/- whatever was more would be charged for the transaction. She felt happy that she would be helping the villagers with banking and also earn money by way of commission through these services.
The villagers were also very happy that they would not have to travel long distance for their banking needs. Doorstep banking was the new mantra and would be very convenient and useful for them and for 3 villages nearby.
For the bank it was the best way to reach out to the unreached without investing in infrastructure or human resources. A win win situation for both the bank and the customer, the BC model for banking through SHGs is worth replicating. As more and more women get empowered through social and financial inclusion providing them with opportunities for such livelihoods is also worth appreciating as well as propagating.