New Delhi: Paytm Payments Bank will invest Rs3,000 crore to create a network of more than 100,000 consumer banking touch points over three years, it said on Monday.
The payments bank is inviting retail stores and mom-and-pop businesses to become its local banking partners, which will be capable of accepting deposits, allowing withdrawals and taking in requests for new savings bank accounts.
Paytm Payments Bank “has committed Rs3,000 crore over the next three years to expand offline distribution network by allowing trusted local partners to act as potential cash-in and cash-out points,” it said in a statement.
“These specially branded outlets will play a key role in bringing banking access to smaller cities and towns by ensuring customers find it easy to locate points near them.”
On Monday, 3,000 such outlets, called ‘Paytm ka ATM’ went live in Delhi-National Capital Region, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Aligarh.
Under this model, Paytm will empower personnel at local stores with the infrastructure to accept and dispense funds to holders of Paytm Payments Bank savings account.
The outlets will also let users link Aadhaar credentials to their Paytm accounts, allowing more customers to get KYC-verified (know your customer) swiftly.
Most of the banking services, otherwise, will continue to be online. Paytm has added a dedicated ‘Bank’ tab on the app which users can tap for payments history, digital debit card, passbook, help and support, among other things.
“The Paytm Ka ATM banking outlets is our step towards ensuring every Indian has access to banking facilities. This will enable our customers to visit their trusted neighbourhood outlet to open their bank account, deposit and withdraw cash, in addition to getting their Aadhaar-linked. We believe this hyper-local model of banking will play a crucial role in enabling hundreds of millions of under-served and un-served customers to gain access to quality banking services,” Renu Satti, managing director and chief executive officer, Paytm Payments Bank, said in a statement.
Paytm Payments Bank started operations in May, when it opened its first branch in Noida. It offers a zero-balance savings account with facilities like online transactions, debit card and a 4% per annum interest on deposit of up to Rs1 lakh.
The firm is also in active talks with banks to offers financial products like insurance, loans and mutual funds to Paytm Payments Bank account holders.