Content area
Full Text
Banking sector in our country is at cross roads today, with recent developments like new players; technology explosion; highly qualified new recruits; increased customer's expectations; high competition in payment & settlement solutions and Digital India movement. While commercial banks could easily adopt digital banking, it is a difficult task for rural banks, who have issues starting from electrical lining & earthing for computers to attitudes of that too, limited staff. But change is inevitable for survival and sustainability. The present paper explains with initiatives of Kerala Gramin Bank (KGB), a Regional Rural Bank sponsored by Canara Bank, which has done it with commitment. The bank not only reap benefits of retaining customers and attracting youth, but also serving the community in a better way, leading to less-cash society. The innovative approaches of bank has resulted in improved quality of services, better customer relations and satisfaction and also encourages towards digital rural India. The article highlights the possibilities, need for cashless banking, which were considered impossible and reinforce the urgent need for attitudinal changes towards digital banking among the staff of rural banking industry.
Introduction
Government of India has launched a mission of Cashless India, led by Hon'ble Prime Minister to reduce dependency of Indian economy on cash and transform the country towards cashless economy through digital means. To achieve this mission, all the banks especially rural financial institutions like RRBs and cooperative banks need to implement technology banking at the earliest. KGB is the biggest RRB in the country with a total business of over Rs. 28,200 Cr. Understanding the preset day need, the bank envisions a total digital transformation of the bank to a "Real-time Bank" providing 24x7x365 banking services by digitizing its operations to be a part of an interconnected ecosystem of cross-industry providers that pivots around customers' real-time needs. In this article we shall discuss the success story of this bank, which has already implemented the technology in banking towards making the society digital.
Innovative Approach
To cater to the increased business volume consequent to its massive financial inclusion initiatives, the bank has strategized to implement Alternate Delivery Channels striving to meet the evolving customer needs. The bank aimed to provide technology based banking access to the common man, who has...