CHENNAI: Public sector Indian Bank would deploy over 5,000 new business correspondents (BC) by March 2024. This effort is expected to significantly bolster the bank’s reach and accessibility, ensuring that more underserved communities have access to essential financial services, a statement here on Friday said.
By further expanding its existing network of 10,750 BCs and 10 corporate business correspondents to over 15,000 BCs and 15 corporate business correspondents, the bank will take a giant stride towards its commitment to financial inclusion, it added.
Currently, Indian Bank offers 36 different services to customers through its BC channel. In the upcoming fiscal year 2024-25, the bank will introduce additional 60 services, thereby providing a wider spectrum of financial solutions to meet the diverse needs of customers across the nation, it added.
The bank has announced the launch of IB SAATHI (Sustainable Access and Aligning Technology for Holistic Inclusion), a financial inclusion solution aimed at providing an integrated ecosystem for all stakeholders in the financial sector through the BC channel.
IB SAATHI is set to redefine the landscape of financial inclusion in the country by offering an enhanced user experience through the simplified delivery of services, encompassing both basic and value-added offerings to customers through its BC model.
With this revamped model, the bank aims at providing basic banking services at all centers for a minimum of four hours per day in fixed outlets. Additionally, BC agents will extend their services directly to the doorsteps of customers, making access to financial services even more convenient and inclusive, the statement said.
