Payment bank on anvil: RBI

13 Jun 2014 Evaluate

In line with recommendations of Nachiket Mor Committee, the RBI will soon come out with India's first payment bank, which will provide deposit and payment services but wouldn’t lend, considering country’s potential for huge financial inclusion.

However, before coming out with the payment bank, the RBI will issue guidelines for it and is also in discussion with government for a framework on differentiated bank licences. Additionally, central bank’s deputy governor, H. R. Khan, highlighted that RBI was in process of issuing guidelines on universal commercial banking licences and will also be floating norms for small banks in the private sector along with mid-sized universal commercial bank.

However, the guidelines on universal commercial banking, will not be based on a single window, but it will be ‘on tap’. The RBI, in April, had given in-principle approval for setting up of banks to IDFC and Kolkata-base micro lender Bandhan. The two banks were selected from the list of 26 applicants, including state-run IFCI and private sector Anil Ambani group and Aditya Birla group, Bajaj Finance, Muthoot Finance, Religare Enterprises and Shriram Capital, among others.

Further, RBI’s deputy governor announced that the central bank was in discussion with the government to revamp inflation-indexed bonds to attract more retail investors. The bonds, introduced in June last year by the central bank, aimed at giving returns that exceed the rate of inflation to ensure that rising prices don't eat into the value of investor savings, failed to garner required interest from investors, which failed to understand its complex structure. He, further underscored that RBI was in process for improvising the features of these bonds for attracting more retail investors.

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