Axis Bank, India’s third largest private bank, and IDEA Cellular, the pan-India mobile operator, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Whereby Idea will act as a ‘Business Correspondent’ of Axis Bank to provide an entire range of financial products and services offered by the Bank, through the mobile operator’s retail outlets.
The association will be flagged-off with a ‘remittance pilot’ between Dharavi in suburban Mumbai and Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, which will enable money transfer using the mobile platform.
Talking about the project, Mr. Ambrish Jain, Director - Operations, IDEA Cellular said: “We are pleased to partner Axis Bank in its Financial Inclusion initiative through a pilot based on mobile-enabled low-cost banking service model. Idea’s mobile technology platform will enable the provision of a gamut of banking products and services to the end customer, and allow cash transactions at select Idea retail points.”
During the ‘remittance pilot’, a remitter in Dharavi will be able to remit money back home to his family in Allahabad, through the mobile platform.
The remitters have the option of remitting money to the beneficiary through either of the following routes:
·Through Account to Account Transfer whereby the remitter, having an account with Axis Bank, remits money to the beneficiary who also has an account with Axis Bank;
·Through the IMT module developed and provided by Empays Payments Systems whereby the remitter, having an account with Axis Bank, remits money to the beneficiary, who has a registered mobile connection, but need not have a banking account.
As a part of the association, IDEA Cellular will support Axis Bank’s Financial Inclusion initiatives whereby Idea will act as a Business Correspondent (BC) of Axis Bank and offer the entire range of financial products and services through its retail outlets that will act as Customer Service Points or CSPs.
