HDFC Bank ties up with IPPB to deliver banking services in semi-urban, rural areas

HDFC Bank has tied up with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to offer its banking services to the unbanked and underserved segments in semi-urban and rural areas. A memorandum of understanding was signed between HDFC Bank and IPPB to cater to the majority of over 4.7 crore customer base of IPPB.

About 90 per cent of IPPB customers reside in rural areas, which may benefit from this tie-up.

HDFC Bank said the strategic alliance will enable IPPB to provide affordable and diversified offerings, including access to finance, to its customers through its innovative Doorstep Banking Service.

With nearly 2,00,000 postal service providers (Postmen and Gramin Dak Sevaks) equipped with micro ATMs and biometric devices, IPPB caters to the needs and requirements of various customer segments.

With this partnership, HDFC Bank aims to further strengthen its financial inclusion drive by leveraging the robust and extensive distribution network of IPPB's 650 branches and over 136,000 banking access points across India, the bank said on Monday.

"By bringing banking at the doorsteps of customers, IPPB is steadily transforming and reshaping the financial inclusion landscape across the country.

"Our endeavour is to build a unified platform offering various citizen-centric services, including credit, at the doorstep by leveraging digital technologies and alternate data sources in collaboration with lending partners," J Venkatramu, Managing Director and CEO, India Post Payments Bank, said.

Smita Bhagat, Country Head - GIB, CSC, e-Commerce, Start-ups and Inclusive Banking Initiatives Group, HDFC Bank, said the bank has been championing the cause of financial inclusion through several initiatives and this partnership is one more step in that direction.

"This alliance will allow us to take our best-in-class products and services to millions of IPPB customers in the remotest corners of India," Bhagat said.

The private sector lender said it is a significant tie-up for HDFC Bank as it will help expand its customer outreach to the last mile.

IPPB offers services such as savings and current account, 24x7 instant money transfer, Aadhaar enabled Payment System, DBT, including Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and payment of scholarships, bill and utility payments, digital life certificate, third party products among others. PTI KPM BAL BAL.

Source: Economic Times

Former RBI executive director Lily Vadera joins HDFC Bank board

HDFC Bank on Friday said its board has approved the appointment of former RBI executive director Lily Vadera as independent director.

The board of directors of the bank approved the appointment of Lily Vadera as an additional independent director of the bank for a period of five years effective from November 26, 2021, subject to the approval of the shareholders, HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Vadera, 61, has 33 years of experience in central banking. She retired as Executive Director from the Reserve Bank of India in October 2020.

As an ED of the RBI, she was in-charge of the Department of Regulation (DoR) where she dealt with the regulatory framework for various entities in the financial sector, covering all categories of banks and non-banking finance companies.

She was instrumental in putting in place a framework for a regulatory Sandbox to provide an enabling environment for fintech players to foster innovation in financial services and played a significant role in the amalgamation of banks in stress, the bank said.

She also represented RBI and played an important role as a member of the Insolvency Law Committee set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Source : Business-standard