India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) - Once Again Postman to Introduce Latest Banking Technology to Commoners

Thanks, Mr. Prime Minister to rely on people who are serving commoners for more than centuries.  To ensure financial inclusion of masses no other service provider (public or private) than India Post could act better. If latest payments banking system must reach every single Indian, Department of Post has to “work” with its existing 1.55 lakh post offices and its “strong manpower” which includes those beloved “Gang of Postmen and Grameen Dak Sewaks” (more than 3 lakhs in number) who “keep connecting” far-flung relatives residing at extreme miles in some distant corners of 1000s of Indian villages.

Knock, knock… Postmannnn: “here is a letter for you”

I can still remember Peon Kaku (Postman Uncle) calling me aloud “choto babu, your letter has arrived!” The man, clad in Khaki dress, used to come riding a bicycle with a side-bag full of letters and papers. Most of us can hardly deny that he was the first banking personnel we knew. The invasion of the Cell phone, Email and better banking services, depopularized those men in mass. But still today you can find them paddling from one house to another carrying love, hatred, order, blessings, joy, tears which are all put down on papers and sealed inside envelops send to deliver.

Stop, stop… Postman Uncle, what is this IPPB?

However, envisaging an accessible, affordable and trusted banking for the common man and to help speedily achieve the financial inclusion objectives of the Union Government, India post need to work hard. India is moving fast, so its government departments are trying to catch up the speed. Still, how can I forget the letters bringing the sad demise of a person reaches latest by a month from its sending date – factually, the last rites of the person got over and the relatives are not even ready to give a cold reaction!! Forget those miserable days… but attracting youth to visit a post office to use a new postal banking system or making them inquisitive to stop a postman for knowing how India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) work – could be a challenge – isn’t it?

Will you ask a student at the fourth standard to teach his own classmates? I must not remind you how simple it was to handle money orders in comparison to today’s mobile or computer-based payment banking system! Whatever user-friendly the platform becomes, still the postman with a basic school education or on the verge of retirement, must undulate his grey cells despite limited training is promised to be provided. They shall overcome someday! But shouldn’t we have to stick to the belief that “patience is a virtue”?

Give me light, I shall show you a New India…

The post office may be more than lakhs in number, but will it be possible to deliver services like ‘money transfer’, ‘direct benefit transfers’, ‘bill and utility payments’, ‘enterprise and merchant payments’ through ‘counter services’, ‘micro-ATM’, ‘mobile banking app’, ‘SMS’ and ‘IVR’ at the last mile in a village where still electricity has not reached  every household?

Some recent government data from (Saubhagya) shows us only 38.81% or 1,28,56,074 household out of targeted 3,31,29,506 household got connectivity. Let me remind you, the government deems a village “electrified” when power cables from the nearest power grid reach a transformer in a village and 10% households of the village have electricity to use. And more on that, keep another point in mind, those “household” include public places such as schools, health centers, and post office!!

Let post offices at those villages have electricity and get enabled to digital facilities to utilize state-of-the-art banking system?? I strongly believe, one day a 10th pass student askes Postman uncle- “Uncle how can I use IPPB to pay the electricity bill?”

Will IPPB’s “Aapka bank, aapke dwaar” survive “Paytm Karo”?

Earlier this week, the cabinet had approved an increase in spending for IPPB to Rs 1,435 crore. It hopes that this monetary armament will help IPPB to compete with aggressive private players like Airtel Payments Bank, Paytm Payments Bank, and others. The sources or information reveals that this investment will fuel improvement of payment bank related technology and recruitment/strengthening of human resource. Well, the biggest question stands here is the channel of utilization of these funds.

Will it be possible to create a strong strategy line for winning the race? Will there be no reservation (Quota for SC, ST, and OBC) applied in the selection of the human resource? Can we expect bright minds who are already working in this technology field, will be invited to join to bring “my bank to my door”?

Postman Uncle … are you bringing my bank to my doorstep today or Paytme karu?

Will someone stops asking me “Paytm Karo” or how soon will I be saying “wait… Mera bank he na (my own bank is there), bulaya he (I have asked my bank to my house)” …

Let me bring a scenario: “Hello, Post Office? Can I speak to Postman Uncle?” 

[Let me guess some answers from the opposite side:]

“Postman is on leave today”;

OR

“Yes, speaking, Ok, but… today I would not be able to visit your house…. Some urgent work is there…. Can I come tomorrow?”

OR

“I forgot, today is my last day at the post office, someone will visit tomorrow”

OR EVEN

Pray, this last assumption does not prove true in most of the cases -  “Sare jahann se accha, Hindositan hamara…. Ham bulbuleṉ haiṉ is ki, yih gulsitaṉ hamara ……THE NUMBER YOU ARE TRYING TO REACH IS NOT ANSWERING ANY CALL, PLEASE TRY SOMETIME LATER”…

For those who could not understand the ringtone, the translation stands like this: -

"Sare jahann se accha,Hindositan hamara…. Ham bulbuleṉ haiṉ is ki, yih gulsitaṉ hamara" …. (Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan, We are its nightingales, and it (is) our garden abode)

The line are from poetic song from poet Muhammad Iqbal and it is proven that a poet never lies.

I BELIEVE, AND STRONGLY 
BELIEVE IT that the lines would prove true for my country …