The State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, in a significant move towards enhancing accessibility and convenience in availing banking services has announced introduction of ‘Mobile Handheld Device’ for its FI customers. This innovative initiative, unveiled by Dinesh Khara, Chairman SBI, aims to empower financial inclusion and extend essential banking services to the masses.
The Mobile Handheld Device is set to revolutionize banking accessibility by bringing kiosk banking directly to customer’s doorstep. It offers greater flexibility to customer service point (CSP) agents enabling them to reach out to customers wherever they are. The initiative will particularly benefit customers who face challenges in accessing CSP outlets due to health issues, Senior citizens and Divyangjans.
The Mobile Handheld Device will provide five core banking services i.e. cash withdrawal, cash deposit, fund transfer, balance inquiry and mini statement in its initial phase that account for more than 75% of the total transactions conducted at SBI’s CSP outlets. Additionally, the bank plans to expand its offerings by including services such as enrolments under social security schemes, account opening, remittance and card-based services shortly.
Dinesh Khara, Chairman SBI, expressed his vision for the initiative, stating, “Our goal is to make banking facilities accessible to all sections of society, particularly the unbanked, to fulfil the aspirations of financial inclusion. With introduction of the Mobile Handheld Device, customers will have a seamless and vivid experience conducting transactions at their location. This technology-driven initiative underscores SBI’s commitment to deepening financial inclusion and social welfare through digitization by providing convenient and doorstep banking to our customers.”
