India Post Payments Bank incorporated, to start ops in 2017

New Delhi: India Post Payments Bank has come into existence after it received certificate of incorporation from the Registrar of Companies, setting the stage for the new bank to begin operations in 2017.

This will be the first PSU under the Department of Posts which expects to complete the rollout of its branches all over the country by September 2017.

"The India Post Payments Bank received the Certificate of Incorporation from the Registrar of Companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, yesterday under the Companies Act, 2013," an official release said here.

The board of the India Post Payments Bank is likely to be constituted soon and the bank will now begin hiring of professionals.

"This could be the fastest rollout for a bank anywhere in the world," it added.

The India Post Payments Bank aims to become the most accessible bank in the world, riding on advanced banking and payments technology. Coupled with physical presence across 1.55 lakh post offices and the reach of the postman, the India Post Payments Bank plans to become a powerful and effective vehicle of real financial inclusion in the country.

"It is poised to create a national payments architecture riding on a modern payments platform and ubiquitous information and communication technologies that can be accessed by all users and service providers like never before," it added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence day address, had stated that steps have been taken to convert post offices into payments banks. Through this, a network of banks will be established across villages, he had said.

Reserve Bank of India gave in-principle nod to 11 entities to set up payments banks in August 2015, but three have already opted out since.

Payments bank allows mobile firms, supermarket chains, and others to cater to banking requirements of individuals and small businesses. It will be set up as a differentiated bank and will confine its activities to acceptance of demand deposits, remittance services, Internet banking and other specified services.