Gully Gully Fino Brings Banks Closer to Customers in rural Kerala

KOCHI:
Fino Payments Bank initiated Gully Gully Fino campaign to foray into Kerala and expand presence in the Southern state. The bank is present across all the 14 districts of the state and plans to go deeper inside the geographies to provide banking access in remote villages.

As per State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) data,as of March 2019 the total number of branches of all PSU, private, regional rural banks, small finance banks and cooperative banks in Kerala put together is 7421. Of which only 6.5% of the branches are present in rural areas, while semi urban locations account for 62.4 per cent and urban areas have 31.1 per cent of the bank branches.

In this context, Fino’s focus on increasing banking presence in Kerala’s rural areas assumes significance. Fino follows phygital approach, a mix of physical outlets and digital platforms, to bring banking services closer to customers. With this approach, neighourhood shops such as kirana stores and mobile repair shops are equipped with micro ATM devices to become Fino banking points. Outlets of Fino’s strategic partner Bharat Petroleum also act as banking points.

Announcing the bank’s plan for Kerala, Shailesh Pandey, Chief Sales & Distribution Head (South, West and Central), Fino Payments Bank said, “Our objective is to increase banking access in Kerala, especially rural areas. To achieve this we have introduced Gully Gully Fino campaign to go deeper into the interiors of the state. Through this initiative, we on boarded over 700 merchants as banking points in Kerala of which close to 200 are BPCL outlets. Our plan is to increase our reach further and triple our merchants by March 2021.”

Terming Fino service as simple and convenient, Biswajeet Sinha, Zonal Head, Fino Payments Bank said, “Our micro ATM enabled merchant points are present in the neighbourhood and open till late hours making it easier for customers to bank. One can open new bank account, get instant debit cards, make deposits and withdrawal,do money transfer and pay utility bills at these points. Rural customers can also get assistance in downloading and operating Fino mobile banking app BPay.”

Fino has strong merchant network in Ernakulam, Mallapuram, Iddukki, Thrissur, Kollam and Kozikode. Going forward the bank plans to expand further in the rest of the districts.