Mobile Banking: India has all the ingredients
by Jim Rosenberg: Wednesday, January 16, 2008
For decades, India’s government and its central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), have made the establishment of an inclusive financial sector a key policy priority. Yet in spite of numerous government initiatives and a burgeoning microfinance sector, lack of access to formal financial services remains a problem in India. Less than 59% of adults have access to a bank account and less than 14% have a loan with a bank. With more than 30,000 bank branches, 110,000 cooperatives (one in every five villages), and 150,000 post offices, financial sector policymakers do not believe the number of service points is a major problem.
