India Post Payments Bank Will Help in Financial Inclusion, Says Manoj Sinha

The Government is working on setting up 650 India Post Payments Bank and gearing up fast to provide its financial services through all of 1.55 lakh post offices.

New Delhi, October 9: To give a major push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s financial inclusion vision, the Government is working on setting up 650 India Post Payments Bank and gearing up fast to provide its financial services through all of 1.55 lakh post offices. On the occasion of World Post Day today, Minister for Communications Manoj Sinha informed that the Indian Postal Department is undergoing major transformation with changing times, be it the inter-operability of ATMs, core banking or providing of Passport Seva and Aadhar enrolment.  Sinha informed that so far 57 Post Offices are providing Passport Seva and in coming days 93 more will be added to the list.

The Minister also unveiled the revamped website of the India Post. The website has now been made more user-friendly and informative to meet the need of customers in a better way. The citizens shall benefit by getting relevant information fast and in a user- friendly manner. During the event, Sinha launched International Tracked Packet service designed specially to meet the cross-border requirements of e-Commerce sector in Asia-Pacific Region.

Sinha said, at the beginning, the service will be available to 12 countries and gradually the whole world will be covered. This new service has many special features like affordable price, track & trace, volume discounts, pick up facility, compensation for loss or damage and, therefore, high value for money. He said, with the launch of this service, Department of Posts is set to start a new chapter of close collaboration between the post office and the business in India that want to reach to their customers abroad.

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been incorporated as a Public Limited Company under the Department of Posts with 100% GOI equity. It offers demand deposits such as savings and current accounts up to a balance of Rs 1 Lac, digitally enabled payments and remittance services of all kinds between entities and individuals.  IPPB also provides access to third-party financial services such as insurance, mutual funds, pension, credit products, forex, and more, in partnership with insurance companies, mutual fund houses, pension providers, banks, international money transfer organisations, etc.

India Post celebrates the National Postal Week every October from 9th to 15th October, starting with World Post Day which is celebrated each year on 9th October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in Berne. The purpose of World Post Day is to create awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’ everyday lives and its contribution to the social and economic development of countries.

The Minister also launched e-IPO (Indian Postal Order) in the denominations of Rs. 10/-, Rs. 20/-, Rs. 50/- &Rs. 100/-, as a pilot project in Bihar, Delhi and Karnataka and said that in the next two months, the service will cover the entire country.e-IPO will be used for all purposes like fee payment for RTI/ educational institutions/ Court/ online registration for Cable Operators etc. Customer can purchase e-IPO online from one’s home or workplace, as per one’s convenience.