India Post Payments Bank will be converted into a small finance bank to enable small loans to individuals and SMEs, the Ministry of Communications said in a statement on July 31. The Department of Posts is also targeting 1 crore accounts for IPPB in 100 days. Payments banks are not allowed to offer loans, take NRI deposits, set up non-banking-financial businesses or issue credit cards. Prior to this move, IPPB had joined hands with Punjab National Bank and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance to offer loans and insurances products. The decision was made at the annual Heads of Circles Conference held at Srinagar to adopted a 100 Days Action Plan and a five-year vision to make Department of Posts align with PM Modi's “New India” initiative. Now, IPPB will partner with common service centres to provide services such as banking, remittance, insurance, DBT, bill and tax payments at the post offices. What does IPPB do? IPPB formally commenced operations in September 2018 in 650 branches and 3,250 access points across the country after a year-long pilot. It is focused on delivering financial services to rural areas by leveraging its massive network of post office branches, which it will were linked IPPB system. A week before the launch, the Union Cabinet increased its budget by 80% or Rs 635 crore to Rs 1,435 crore. Of this, Rs 400 crore was allocated for technology-related costs and Rs 235 crore was kept aside for human resources. According to reports, the Reserve Bank of India…
