FSS (Financial Software and Systems), a leading payment processor and provider of integrated payment products, has cemented alliance with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to promote financial inclusion among underserved and unbanked segments.

As part of the collaboration, IPPB will use FSS’ Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) to deliver interoperable and affordable doorstep banking services to customers across India. FSS’ AePS solution combines the low-cost structure of a branchless business model, digital distribution, and micro-targeting that lowers acquisition costs and improves reach.

This alliance offers significant opportunities to bring millions of unbanked customers into the financial mainstream. Currently, there are nearly 410 million Jan Dhan accounts in India, according to FSS.

The challenge of accessibility in rural areas and the cost of maintaining active accounts — including transaction and transport— outweigh the benefits, is the primary reason for low usage of banking and payment services. In rural and peri-urban areas, the average time to reach a banking access point potentially ranges between 1.5 and 5 hours, compared with 30 minutes on average in urban areas.

IPPB, leveraging its vast network of over 136,000 post offices, and 300,000 postal workers, has been set up with the vision to build the most accessible, affordable, and trusted bank for the common man in India to deliver banking at the customer’s doorstep.

With the launch of AePS services, IPPB now can serve all customer segments, including nearly 410 million Jan Dhan account holders, giving a fresh impetus to the inclusion of customers facing accessibility challenges in the traditional banking ecosystem.

FSS’ AePS solution combined with IPPB’s expansive last mile distribution empowers citizens of the country with a range of digital payment products and advances India’s vision towards a less-cash economy, said the company.

“Through the vast reach of the Department of Posts network along with the advent of the interoperable payment systems to drive adoption, IPPB is uniquely positioned to offer a range of products and services to fulfil the financial needs of the unbanked and the underbanked at the last mile. Having launched AePS services, the Bank has become the single largest platform in the country for providing interoperable banking services to customers of any bank. The strategic partnership with FSS provides us with an opportunity to expand the portfolio of financial services and improve customer experience whilst maintaining operational efficiency, thus building a digitally inclusive society,” said J Venkatramu, MD & CEO, India Post Payments Bank.

The infrastructure created by IPPB addresses the accessibility challenges faced by customers in the traditional banking ecosystem. It fulfils the Government’s objective of having an interoperable banking access point within 5 KM of any household and creating alternate accessibility for customers of any bank.

The operation of FSS’ AePS solution is based on agents performing transactions on behalf of customers using a tablet, micro-ATM or a POS device.

All the customers, from any bank, can access their Aadhaar-linked bank account by simply using their fingerprint for cash withdrawal, balance enquiry and transfer of funds into an operating IPPB account, right at their doorstep. FSS’ AePS exposes APIs to third parties to develop an expansive services ecosystem and extend a broad suite of financial products and tools including micro-insurance, micro-savings, micro-finance, mutual fund investments, enabling the bank to further services adoption among low and moderate-income consumers.a