In partnership with leading PSU and private sector banks, PayPoint India has more than 67000 retailers on the ground offering 100 plus services across geographical spread of India
Mehul Dani
Mumbai, November 28, 2023: Neo Banking services are being rolled out in India by several players. Ketan Doshi, Managing Director, PayPoint India, in an exclusive conversation with the FinTech BizNews website, explains various facets of BCs, offering Neo Banking services, and reveals plans for his company:
NeoBanks - Layer Of Digital CX
A number of Fintech players are offering services in various segments such as digital loans, prepaid cards, digital accounts, UPI, expenses management and some players offering Payment Gateways and posing themselves as neo bank for merchants. Neo Banks, typically, are companies providing banking services to consumers with a digital first approach rather than the traditional physical customer experience of banking. Ketan Doshi, Managing Director of PayPoint India, explains: “These are players who ride on the same banking pipe at the core and add a layer of Digital customer experience (CX) above it. In a nutshell, Neo banks offer a layer above the current banking system. India had already seen its avatar of Neo Banks before world had coined this term in the form of Business Correspondent (BC model).
Touching 8 Mn Customers M/M
PayPoint India, a leading Fintech headquartered in Mumbai, has been a dominant player in the BC business since a decade. Ketan Doshi updates: “In partnership with a number of leading PSU and private sector banks of the country, we have more than 67000 retailers on the ground offering 100 plus services like basic banking, loans, insurance, bill payments, recharges, gold, saving products etc. Our company is touching 8 Mn customers month on month (M/M) across geographical spread of India. Our Bharat version of Neo Banks are BCs (Banking correspondents), offering banking services to the masses. BCs across the country have been instrumental to bring the banked population by mere 47% in 2011 to current 97% Indian households.”
Digikhata: UPI on PPI
PayPoint is a Wallet license holder under the PSS act of RBI. Recently the company has launched its Interoperable wallet called Digikhata. It boasts of opening UPI account in less than 2 mins and activating UPI on PPI instantly. Digikhata proposes to bring the untapped customers for UPI who are sitting on fence to join the UPI revolution. Ketan Doshi elaborates: “Currently, India is seeing the UPI moment where not more than 28% of Indians are active on UPI and there is a huge headroom of growth, which PayPoint plans to capitalize on. Digikhata which can hold up to Rs. 2 lakh as an account also addresses various needs of customers such as: 1) UPI enabled Mobile App is activated in 2 minutes. 2) Offers RuPay enabled Cards both digital and Physical 3) Gives access to 67000 retail touch points for KYC, including training and handholding 4) Offers cash loading for the customers in hinterland at its retail points. 5) Cash withdrawal from wallet at the touchpoints. 6) 100+ consumer services on the App.
With a decade of experience in financial inclusion under BC model, and already servicing 8 Mn customers M/M through ground retail touchpoints, our Digikhata can be Bharat’s true Neo Bank.”
A DigiKhata kiosk in Indore serving the customers
Future Plan
Digikhata’s KYC points can educate the less tech savvy customers who need handholding. For college students and women who are unable to get UPI IDs, Digikhata can be empowering. Finally, the hinterland population can load wallet in cash and use it digitally. Ketan Doshi reveals the target: “We aspire to touch 20 Mn lives in a short span of time through our different programs". Digikhata, with the focus on Bharat, can be a Bharat’s version of Neo-Bank. I am confident that Digikhata will the strongest contender in the space as it addressing the real need of the consumer.
