The RBI is running a pilot project with a group of private payment gateway operators like Oxigen and Airtel Money to facilitate money transfers without the intervention of a bank.
This is how it works: You can register or open a wallet on the Oxigen payment gateway by just sending an SMS to the company number. Once you open a wallet you can deposit money in it by transferring from your bank account. You can then transfer the money to the recipients mobile number. Initially this amount can be used for paying bills, charging your SIM card etc. Soon cashing out facility will also be opened through about 10,000 kiosks or ATM like maachines which will be opened across the country.
The transfer can also happen within the country through social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter or even Whatsapp. The money that gets deposited in the mobile wallets of the receiver can be used to buy merchandise by swiping a card at merchant establishments also.
A banker involved with the programme told dna, "The pilot is being run in 200 locations like Delhi, Odisha, Maharashtra and it is trying to link 2,000 people in rural areas. The basic requirements are mobile number, finger printing and Aadhar cards."
The payment operators will also have a number of kiosks where people can deposit money. The kiosk are small electronic instruments that verify the ten finger biometric check, If the transaction is validated, the kiosk manager who is often a small shop owner will then hand over the cash to the person at the receiving end. The cashing out facility will also be handled by bank correspondents who operate in rural areas.
Ankur Saxena, CEO of Oxigen Wallet, said, "We are also participating with a couple of payment players. We have 1.5 lakh retail outlets, one fifth of which are in rural areas which will help this operation become successful.
"We already help customers send money from the oxygen mobile wallet to another customers mobile wallet and we are medium agnostic. So the medium can be Facebook, Twitter or Whatsapp," Saxena added
The idea of the new exercise is to link 600 million Aadhar card holders to the system helping people to seamlessly transfer money within seconds even if they have no bank accounts. The migratory nature of employment entails that many people want to send money back to their homes in remote villages. The programme aims to target these customers and meet their money transfer needs.
The alternate payment channels will also reduce the burden on the banks and offer greater efficiencies as the payment operators are all business correspondent of banks and they operate in rural areas.
Two months back in August, Oxigen started facilitating money transfers and mobile top-up through Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. Companies like Oxigen facilitate money transfers without a bank account, but cash outs were not possible. Under the new facility being experimented, money can be transferred and it also allows for cash outs using kiosks. .
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}