Postal Banks Forum to discuss DoP's role in retail banking

The WSBI Postal Savings Banks Forum, that is scheduled to take place in the national capital tomorrow, will discuss role played by various postal departments in their respective countries in retail banking.
This annual meeting sees postal financial institutions from Africa, Asia and Europe come together to share their experiences towards becoming efficient retail banks.
"Post offices are so common that many financial inclusion experts do not see the obvious. They should become key players in extending financial services to the masses because they typically have the largest distribution network in any given country," an official statement said today.
Post offices worldwide hold 1.6 billion savings and deposit accounts that is second only to commercial banks, which hold about 2.5 billion accounts, it added

Post offices are critical to the pursuit of financial inclusion, which is recognised today as a vital pre-requisite to socio-economic development, it said.
The theme of this year's Postal Savings Banks Forum will be the rising force of postal banking in the retail banking market.

The Forum will be inaugurated by Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tomorrow.
"Universal Postal Union estimates that several hundred million people, often without an account, use the Post Offices to make and receive basic payment transactions like domestic and international transfers, government payments and utility payments, it said.
Combined with the universal service obligation through which the State gives the mandate to the Post to serve the entire population, these specific features make the Post a worthwhile ally in the fight against financial exclusion, it added.

India has about 1.55 lakh post offices, which is more than the combined branch strength of commercial banks (about 1 lakh).
The number of savings accounts held in post offices in India is about 31 crore, which is more than that of any commercial bank in the country.
The postal network possesses excellent cash management abilities and is trusted for its governance practices. Thus India seems to have the right mix of ingredients to deliver concrete results in postal financial inclusion.