Overview

One of the common habits of people is to Save as much money as they can. The primary thought which comes to everyone’s mind while talking about Saving is to ‘deposit it in a bank.’ Businessmen go for Current Account, which helps them in their business, many individuals go for a Saving’s Account who enjoy various services along with that, and some even go for an FD, which helps them to enjoy higher interest rates. However, recently RBI had introduced a new type of banking system in favor of poor and low-income group people.

Kiosk Banking

One of the recently introduced systems by The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is KIOSK Banking. This facility works for people who belong to the low-income group and who reside in rural areas. Normally, it becomes difficult for people living in rural areas to have frequent visits to a bank and deposit their money. Through this facility, they no longer have to maintain any minimum balance in their account and they can avail the primary banking services without having to visit the bank.

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Facilities Provided in Kiosk Banking

For starters let us talk about the various features that are comprised in Kiosk Banking and which sets this type of facility apart from the normal savings or current account that we enrol for.

• Primary Facilities such as the requesting of Cheque book, having mini-statements printed, Cheque deposits, internet banking, and checking account balance are easily available.

• In No-frill account, you can also have a zero-balance account maintained and the maximum balance that is allowed is around Rs. 50000.

• The Transaction charges are very low or almost none. A person having a No-Frills account can also access his or her account through a thumb impression.

• At various Kiosk Branches, a Customer can also deposit or withdraw cash by being there in person and using their thumb impression.

• At Kiosk branches, customers are also provided with normal bank facilities such as availing small loans and also a Kisan Credit Card/ General Purpose Credit Card.

Benefits

We talked about the features of Kiosk Banking, however, there are various benefits that are provided to customers and also to all the retail shops or the customer service point providers, which are usually small retailers.

Benefits to Customers

• The best part is that a Customer Service Point or a Kiosk machine is always located nearby for all the customers, making it easily accessible.

• Every Customer who has an account is provided with an accidental coverage of Rs.10000.

• There are no queues in case of Kiosk Banking and the working hours of CSP or Kiosk machines are longer than the other retail shops.

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Benefits to Customer Service Point (CSP)

• By having or availing a retail shop to a service point for Kiosk banking, the retailers earn an extra income and this also creates an employment opportunity.

• CSP is awarded with incentives that are based on performance. According to the various reports, CSP receives a good remuneration through incentives.

Kiosk Banking Works

After understanding the various benefits of Kiosk Banking to customers and even to service points, the next concept is how to start Kiosk Banking in India. However, before that, it is necessary to know how does Kiosk Banking operates or works.

• Kiosks are small booths, somewhat similar to ATM and are internet-enabled, established at nearby locations in villages or rural areas.

• The various retail shops that act as a Customer Service Provider (CSP) acts as a bridge between the banks and the customer. All the services such as cash withdrawal, deposits, etc, are handled at these points.

• If a Customer wants to start their account, carry transactions, avail loan or card, it is all used as a checkpoint at these retail shops who in turn carry on the same at the concerned Banks.

Kiosk Banking in India

Now that we have successfully gone through the features, benefits, and even the structure of Kiosk Banking, let us dive deep into how to start Kiosk Banking right away. The process goes very simple as it is specifically made for people living in rural areas.

Opening the No-frills Account: The term may sound a bit vague, however, creating a no-frill account is the first step towards starting Kiosk Banking. For opening a no-frills account, the customer has to submit various documents and complete the necessary obligations to finish the 1st step. The details required are usually the customer’s name, address, phone number, etc, they also record a fingerprint and a few photographs for finishing the formalities for the No-frill account.

Channeling the details to the partnered Bank: As we already discussed above that a retail shop or a Customer Service point acts as a bridge between the customers and the partnered Bank. The retailer or the CSP then sends all the details of the customer to the partnered Bank which would follow the further processes.

KYC: Once the Affiliated Bank Branch receives the necessary documents and details of the customers, they start with the process of Know Your Customer (KYC). This is an important and final step that is carried out by the banks for the opening of an account in the Kiosk Banking facility.

Success: Once the Affiliate Bank branch goes through the KYC process, if everything is valid, the KYC is updated and the bank account of the customer now becomes active. The customer can avail of all the services such as Cash withdrawal, chequebook, etc.

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Conclusion

Kiosk Banking is a facility introduced by the RBI for poor and low-income groups. Kiosk Banking provides almost similar facilities like a normal bank to its customer, the only difference is that it is located very near to their area. To start Kiosk Banking in India you have to open a no-frills account, the CSP sends the details to the partner bank, KYC validation, and finally, the bank account opens.