India is one of the developing or emerging countries. Now, a recent report has stated that it is significantly behind the other developing economies, especially on the physical banking infrastructure front.
There are only 12 bank branches and 13 ATMs for every 1,000 citizens in India in comparison to Brazil. The latter has four times the same with a number of branches and almost 10 times as many ATMs every 1,000 adults. This way, there is a huge lag in terms of the banking infrastructure. This was stated by a Deloitte India as well as Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).
Apart from banking infrastructure, there are other aspects as well. The financial services sector in India is experiencing a slew of regulatory changes as it is gearing up to meet the local as well as global standards. Apart from this, it is also aiming to balance the commitment to the financial inclusion.
Furthermore, the report stated that right now the branchless banking options are moving up in terms of the priority for the banks as they need to expand their reach. The branchless banking options include business correspondents, mobile banking and payment instruments.
It is further stated that the banking sector’s regulator RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has played a supportive role over the years in increasing the outreach of banking and financial inclusion.
The RBI has encouraged banks as well as other financial service providers to adopt several new technologies as well as business models for profitability and growth.
The banks are experiencing a tidal wave of rigid requirements and they are increasing under the regulatory scrutiny, the report added.
