 Please tell us about Eko Aspire Foundation.
Eko is into branchless banking. We are business correspondents of State Bank of India (SBI) i.e. we are a special agent who is allowed to acquire customers and service them beyond the physical premises of the bank. We have about 200 branches in Delhi and 50 in Bihar branded with Eko and SBI. Customers can walk in and get themselves a bank account from SBI.
The experience is similar to getting a SIM card. Customers can walk into our stores where representatives will help them fill the form and activate the bank account on their cellphones. Even a very basic mobile works. These outlets are like human ATMs. Consumers get instant acknowledgment through SMS about their transactions.
But don’t you think customers will prefer going to a bank rather than making transactions like this?
See, we are not talking about customers like you and me. We are talking about low-income people like daily wage earners, drivers and domestic helps who want to do small value transactions. Regular banking doesn’t encourage low transactions. This is not because some people are dressed down but because economics of banks don’t allow low transactions.
These are no frills accounts where there can be zero balance also. Other than this everything remains the same.
So you are targeting low-income groups?
I am clearly trying to communicate with people for whom this service is a necessity. There are people who really need it. It’s critical for them to have formal financial activity.
How does the Eko service work?
Is it SMS based? Applications- and SMS-based services usually target literate people. We cater to low-income groups so we looked for an easier and simpler way of banking for them.
If I want to transfer money to you I need to pass down three pieces of information: your account or mobile number, the amount that has to be transferred and your numerical signature. So, we are trying to present banking in a new avatar. Our solution is based on digits. All you need to do is dial <*543* mobile number of the target* the amount to be transferred* 10 digit signature>.
We have a small booklet that we issue to customers at the time of opening an account. This contains the customer’s digital signature. There are six randomly generated numbers and four place holders to put your PIN, which are all jumbled up. You can do 50 transactions with that booklet and register your four-digit PIN with a one-time mechanism.
How has the response been to this service?
The service was launched with SBI on February 23, 2009. We have got a good response and have more than 6,600 customers. Out of these, 1,500 are in Bihar. The average balance is close to Rs 300. We have transacted more than Rs 2 Crore so far on our platform.
Do you plan to expand to more tier 2 and tier 3 cities?
Yes, right now we are in four districts of Bihar and one district of Jharkhand. Our immediate plan is to cover all of Bihar, followed by Jharkhand and Delhi.
|
