India Post looking to step up banking services

India Post is set to step up its financial services and a host of commercial banks are reportedly vying to work in partnership with the postal operator. According to a report published today (7 January) by Bloomberg, M.S. Ramanujan, head of banking services at India Post, has indicated that the company aims to start operations as a payments bank around December after receiving central bank approval last year.

India Post has about 150,000 branches and most of them are located in small villages, which gives the company an unrivalled connection to the huge rural community. Traditional bank branches in India tend to be concentrated in urban areas.

According to Bloomberg, about 200m Indians do not currently have a traditional bank account – so there is certainly potential room for growth.

Although reports have claimed that the State Bank of India, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and other commercial banks would be interested in working with India Post, the postal department has not made any official comment on potential tie-ups.