India’s FSS and CSB Bank team up to provide banking services to the financially underserved

Indian paytech Financial Software and Systems (FSS) has partnered with CSB Bank to deliver hyperlocal banking services in the country to broaden financial inclusion.

CSB has more than 1.6 million customers

As part of the arrangement, CSB and FSS intend to open 1,000 so-called “Branch-in-a-Box” Smart Cash franchises in semi-urban and rural areas to support financially underserved communities.

These will be equipped with a kiosk or a Micro-ATM and offer affordable banking, investment, credit and insurance products.

The Smart Cash franchisees would also offer products from third parties alongside those of CSB Bank, including utility payments and domestic money transfers, which FSS says will make the franchisees more commercially viable.

FSS adds that its eFinclusiv backend solution will allow customers of any bank to access services using biometric verification and a social ID card (Aadhaar) linked to a bank account or through a debit card and associated PIN.

It is hoped that the partnership between the global payments processor and one of India’s oldest private sector banks will boost financial development in the country and build on the Indian government’s efforts to broaden financial inclusion.

Franchisees will be onboarded with a one-time fee and conform with Smart Cash’s business and operational guidelines to deliver a uniform service experience to customers.

CSB Bank’s head of retail banking Narendra Dixit says: “An approximate 800 million Indians primarily live in a cash economy, and equitable access to digital financial services can bring prodigious benefits to people, businesses and the economy.

“Our vision is to build a universally available ecosystem for digital transactions to strengthen the financial capability of target segments.”

FSS president V Balasubramanian says: “Even as account ownership is now universal in India, progress on savings, credit and insurance is slow, limiting the usefulness of these accounts.”

Balasubramanian adds partnering with CSB Bank will make it easier to scale access to mainstream financial tools and products, “empowering underbanked consumers to enjoy the benefits of India’s modernising digital economy”.