PAYMENTS BANK SOON AT BOKARO HEAD POST OFFICE

PAYMENTS BANK SOON AT BOKARO HEAD POST OFFICE

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will soon start functioning at Head Post Office in Bokaro. “We are ready and waiting for node form higher-ups, IPPB services are scheduled to start by end of this month,” informed Vishwajit Rai Assistant Post Master Bokaro Head Post Office.

“Initially service would be available at head post office only and later all sub-post offices across the district would be added with this service,” added Rai. India Post started its payment bank services as the pilot project at Ranchi and Raipur last year. The initiative behind IPPB is to spread the chain of banks in the villages. It will encourage small entrepreneurs and inculcate saving habits among villagers, he said.

Payments banks can accept deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh per account from individuals and small businesses. Unlike traditional banks, payments banks are not allowed to give loans or credit to customers, informed an official.

IPPB or the payments bank will offer a rate of interest of up to 5.5 percent on the deposits in the savings accounts and it varies depending on the amount deposited.

Earlier, post offices used to run Government of India’s saving bank account scheme and they were not guided by RBI. In 2015, RBI had granted approval to the Department of Posts (including 11 others), to set up payments banks, he said.