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Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB), a regional rural bank (RRB) sponsored by State Bank of India, has opened 135 ultra small branches (USBs) on a single day on Friday.
With this, the total tally of the bank USBs will cross the 400-mark during the current financial year. It has targeted to open an additional 400 USBs during next fiscal, according to an APGVB press release.
The USBs, operated by the business correspondent agents (BCAs) by leveraging biometric technology, will provide banking services to villagers, who are primarily engaged in agricultural operations.
The bank has opened more than 400,000 savings bank accounts in these villages till now and has set a target to open accounts to all the adult members according to the voters list of the villages to pave the way for smooth functioning of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) payment system for all the beneficiaries.
APGVB has also decided to convert at least 50 USBs into full-fledged brick and mortar branches after the villagers start availing of the banking facilities in large number with regular transactions. It has already converted there 3 USBs into full-fledged branches during the month.
The bank, with a business turnover of about Rs 12,000 crore, is also planning to install ATMs at all its branches during the next fiscal.
