A solution has been developed for financial inclusion by Finacle (banking product arm of software major Infosys Technologies) which will expand its scope and business possibilities.
The solution will help banks to delivery of basic banking services to the poor sections of the country at affordable rates.
Speaking on the product, Haragopal Mangipudi VP and Business Head of Finacle, stated that the product is designed in accordance with the technology which is robust, flexible and with very wide reach. To use the solution banks should not have to make daunting up-front capital investment and need pay on a per-use or per-transaction basis.
It was decided by Finacle in order to reach the masses the product has to be bank agnostic so that it can be accessed through any bank and not restricted to those having Finacle solutions only. Moreover, the product has to ensure multi-correspondence so that it is usable by a range of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and NGOs which are involved with taking financial services to the doorstep of the marginalised.
The solution should maintain a data centre which will take care of banking books of account, whose contents will be periodically uploaded to the banks concerned and maintain every bank's data in different buckets.
Further, the product should serve like a platform on which banks should be able to run their own applications. Over a period of time, other services such as dispensation of pensions, rural employment guarantee payments and ration card should be provided.
At an advanced stage, it is expected that the device would read smart cards and be wireless-enabled so that a customer can transact business from anywhere.
The primary aim of the Finacle product is to make micro-finance an attractive business proposition for banks. The product would reduce the costs of transactions by 5 percentage points and mobilise substantial deposits.
