Paymate & IFMR Tie Up For Rural Finance

Mobile payment provider Paymate is rolling out two financial services for rural users.

The first is a mobile remittance initiative and the other is a micro-loan repayment initiatives. They are being conducted in Delhi-Uttarakhand corridor and Orissa respectively.

This is being offered via Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS) of IFMR Rural Finance.

Ajay Adiseshann, MD and Founder, PayMate, said in a media release, "Although reforms in the banking sector have been on an upswing, around 60% of the country's population does not have access to a bank account or even the necessary documents to help secure basic finance. This has severely impacted the cost of development of the lowest strata of society. On the other hand, there has been an exponential growth in mobile penetration with close to 200 million users in rural areas, making it a potent tool to create a financial ecosystem for the under and unbanked masses. The launch of these initiatives is an extension of our belief in casino online the power of mobile telephony to drive financial inclusion." Over a year ago, PayMate, along with Tata Indicom and Corporation Bank, launched its person to person money transfer service – Green.

"The people living in the hills have been relying on Post Office and informal channels for domestic remittance. However, the existing channels are either safe or convenient. The project has addressed the needs of the customers to receive money in both a safe, and convenient manner," said Anupama Joshi, CEO, Sahastradhara KGFS, speaking about the remittance service.

Paymate is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sherpalo Ventures and Mayfield Fund. It has offices in India, USA, Sri Lanka, Nepal and UAE. PayMate claims to have a partnership with 15,000 merchants and 30 Indian banks, namely SBI, IDBI Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Corporation Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, and others.