BUSINESS
Public sector banks expected to increase terminals so that country will have 5 million of them in 2 years
In its ongoing drive to encourage the use of plastic money and electronic payments, the government will nudge public sector banks to enhance their point of sale (PoS) terminal networks substantially, so that the country's total PoS terminals rise to 5 million in two years.
At present, India has around 1.2 million PoS terminals.
A senior ministry official told dna: "We will encourage public sector banks to expand PoS terminals to at least 5 million in the next 2-3 years. We will encourage banks by offering some incentives."
Banks also realise the cost effectiveness of digital banking and are moving towards it.
On Monday, the government had put out draft proposals to boost digital payments by giving income tax rebates by waiving off surcharge on various goods and services like railway ticket bookings, convenience charge while booking an airline ticket, surcharge on petrol among other benefits.
Sunil Srivastava, deputy managing director, State Bank of India, told dna: "The cash-to-GDP ratio in developed countries is less than 5%, but in India, the ratio is 12%. To discourage the use of cash, we are encouraging customers to move towards digital banking. Handling, printing currency is an expensive process, so plastic money and electronic transactions will be the focus of the bank during the year."
SBI is already planning an exponential expansion in its PoS terminals with a planned increase of terminals by 1,50,000 during the financial year. The bank has about 2,20,000 terminals.
Managing currency and disposing off soiled and counterfeit notes is a Herculean task undertaken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), all of which could be minimised with the proliferation of plastic money and e-transactions.
During 2013-14, around 14.2 billion pieces of soiled bank notes were disposed of against a target of around 17 billion pieces. For 2014-15, a target of around 17 billion pieces has been fixed, keeping in view of the disposal capacity available and the trend of actual disposal during the last three years.
During 2013-14, 4,88,273 pieces of counterfeit notes were detected, of which 4,68,446 pieces (95.9%) were detected by commercial bank branches while 19,827 pieces (4.1%) were detected at RBI offices.
AP Hota, chief executive the National Payment Corp of India (NPCIL), told dna: "For a country the size of India, electronic payments are easier to handle rather than cash. The country has 1.2 million PoS terminals, which is quite inadequate. We need to get at least 5 million such terminals across the country so that electronic transactions can increase and use of cash decrease."
Bank of India is also planning to increase its PoS terminals by nearly 25,000 terminals during the financial year, which will take its total to about 30,000.
A senior BoI official said: "All banks are looking at digital banking in a big way, so that the traffic can be diverted away from the brick-and-mortar branches to alternative channels like Internet banking, ATMs, PoS. the use of plastic money is also being encouraged by the government which will be beneficial for the banks as it will get cost effective."
DNA TV Show: Congress not to contest UP by-polls, lends 'unconditionally' support to SP
Venom The Last Dance movie review: Tom Hardy's final Marvel outing is a king-size disappointment
Pushpa, Stree 2 choreographer Jani Master gets bail in sexual assault case
Who is Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the next Chief Justice of India?
KL Rahul rejects retention offer from Lucknow Super Giants, set to enter IPL 2025 auction: Report
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance to give bonus share ahead of Diwali, check last date to apply
When Hollywood actress Natalie Portman insulted a BIG Bollywood megastar, he was asked to 'get lost'
J-K: 2 porters killed, 3 soldiers injured after Army vehicle attacked in Gulmarg
Shah Rukh Khan is back on small screen with legendary tale, it will lead up to…
Pre-Diwali Skincare: 5 quick tips to achieve flawless skin this festive season
Bomb threats to Indian planes continue: More than 80 flights receive fresh security alerts
Mumbai Police arrests vegetable seller from Jamshedpur for sending death threat to Salman Khan
'Dukh toh hota hi hai': Ex-India star blames MS Dhoni for dropping him at the 'peak of career'
Amitabh Bachchan defended Aishwarya Rai after she opted out of this film due to...
THIS company lost Rs 36430 crore in 6 hours, it's not Mukesh Ambani's Reliance, Tata Motors
Narak Chaturdashi 2024: Know the date, time, rituals, significance of Choti Diwali
'Attitude is...': Ex-Tesla employee shares experience working with Elon Musk
IND vs NZ: Washington Sundar scripts history in Pune, becomes first Indian to achieve big feat
Mukesh Ambani hails Meta CEO, says Mark Zuckerberg will go down in history for...
SC issues notice to Ajit Pawar on Sharad Pawar faction's plea over NCP 'clock' symbol
'UPSC hotspot': THIS college produces most IAS, IPS officers every year
Unlock the Power of Quick Recovery: Why every windows PC needs RestoreX360
Royal Enfield first electric bike spotted, it will be unveiled on…
'Dead' baby found alive during funeral in..., what happened next will SHOCK you!
Anil Ambani gets good news ahead of Diwali, his Rs 17016 crore company receives...
Apple iPhone 16 pro is now available for just Rs 52,930 on Amazon, how you can grab this deal
Diwali 2024: 5 vastu-friendly home decor tips to welcome wealth, prosperity this Deepawali
'Breasts, not oranges': Cancer awareness campaign by Yuvraj Singh's NGO draws flak, DMRC recalls it
Virat Kohli reveals being in tears while talking to Anushka Sharma following THIS incident
Man kidnapped from chaat stall, but there's a twist, watch viral video
IND vs NZ: R Ashwin goes past Australia's Nathan Lyon to set new World Test Championship record
Dhanteras 2024: Date, significance, shubh muhurat and more
Nvidia rolls out Hindi-language AI model in India: What is it and how will it work?
Netizens not happy with this billionaire's apartment in Bengaluru, says, 'you can afford better'
'Kejriwal, Atishi looted Rs 8,500 crore for...': BJP protests at Yamuna's Chhath Ghat
Cyclone Dana trains cancelled: Over 300 trains cancelled, check full list here
Bengaluru school's Rs 1.5 lakh fees for Nursery sparks controversy, parents' reaction goes viral
THIS rule will change from November 1, Airtel, Jio, Vi, BSNL users should pay attention, it will...
Video of man dancing around Russian woman at India Gate goes viral, sparks online debate
Innovating the Future: Aniruddh Tiwari's visionary advancements in AI and aata analytics
Revolutionising Enterprise Data Frameworks: How one lead data engineer is driving innovation
Pakistani model's BOLD move, walks Miss World ramp without...; watch video
What role did IAS officer Srushti Deshmukh's family play in her UPSC success? Details here
BIG allegation against Donald Trump, ex-model says former president groped her in front of...
THIS rule made by Ratan Tata won't allow Noel Tata to become Tata Sons chairman, it is...
JioHotstar domain acquired by Delhi-based app developer, he now wants Mukesh Ambani's Reliance to...
Alia Bhatt was totally smitten with Aishwarya Rai's dance videos because...
Ind vs NZ 2nd Test: When, where to watch India vs New Zealand 2nd Test match live
When Salman Khan broke his silence on blackbuck case: ‘Just because I cannot…’
Hyundai Motor India launches historic IPO, paves way for innovation and growth in automotive sector
BIG change in world's richest people list: Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani's fortunes now...
Ananya Panday gets trolled for her outfit, netizens say ‘she is getting Janhvi-fied’
Tom Holland confirms Spider-Man 4, reveals film will go on floors in...