Officials said Fino Payments Bank is expanding branchless banking locations in northeastern states to expand facilities in remote corners, especially in the region’s difficult terrain.

The bank started operations in June 2017 after RBI‘s license to promote digital payments and enable financial inclusion, offering banking services through a branchless network of technology-enabled points, the bank’s Chief Sales Officer Shailesh Pandey told PTI.

In the North East, the bank has nearly 12,000 self-owned banking branches, with Assam having the most at 10,600, followed by Tripura with 642, Manipur with 190 and Meghalaya with 120 in Meghalaya, 44 in Arunachal Pradesh, 36 in Mizoram and 34 in Nagaland.

Pandey said the bank plans to add another 5,000 points in all northeastern states by March 2023, while pan-India aims to double its network to more than 2 million within 36 months.

The ‘PHYGITAL’ network is a mix of brick-and-mortar stores and digital platforms, including small business owners or merchants, such as grocery stores, cell phone repair shops, copy shops, stationery stores, etc., who become local bankers, he said.

Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) Outlets is a strategic partner of Fino Banking Points, which provides micro-ATMs and Aadhaar-enabled Payment Services (AePS) devices that allow merchants to facilitate banking transactions.

At the end of fiscal 2022, the bank had a network of more than 1.14 million points, including more than 500,000 self-owned merchant points and an additional 500,000 points representing 55 Open Banking partners.

He added that the bank is adding more than 1,000 new points every day across the country and intends to continue the momentum of improving banking services for the benefit of the public.

“Branchless banking is the way to improve banking, especially in rural and difficult areas. Under this strategy, we have reached out to North East states, West Bengal and Odisha, where we have around 50,000 bank branches, and intends to penetrate these regions to reach more customers,” Pandey said.

Atul Trivedi, the bank’s NE senior division director, said Fino’s Neighborhood Point offers customers the facility to use digital banking services due to the lack of proper banking infrastructure in NE states.

He said merchants trained in handling digital devices could help less tech-savvy customers complete banking transactions.

At Fino Point, customers of any bank can conduct transactions, open new bank accounts, deposit, withdraw and transfer money while accessing third-party products such as life, health and auto insurance, referring loans and paying utility bills without going to the bank branch, Trivedi said.

The advantages of these bank points are that people can visit at their convenience without having to worry about closing times, and cash is always available. It doesn’t run out like traditional ATMs, and the merchants are familiar, friendly and always helpful, eliminating many of the problems associated with banking.

He added that it’s a great way for merchants to generate additional revenue and goodwill from their customers. In addition, Trivedi said Fino is a registered bank under the government’s Public Financial Management System (PFMS) scheme, under which various benefits are paid to beneficiaries such as students, seniors and farmers, who are also customers and account holders.

Additionally, he said that customers of any bank could access and transact at Fino points using a debit card and PIN mechanism or through Aadhaar fingerprint authentication.