Public Sector Banks To Offer Doorstep Banking Services From October

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched a doorstep banking services initiative by public sector banks which will provide convenience to customers. This is part of EASE—Enhanced Access and Service Excellence—reforms that Department of Financial Services undertook in 2018.

Now, one can bank from home with the union finance minister launching the doorstep service initiative of public sector banks, Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda said. Customer convenience and comfort will be the top priority in the entire process, he added.

Asserting that EASE reforms have resulted in improving various financial parameters of public sector banks, Panda said there has been a six-fold increase in the number of profitable lenders in the last two years.

Recalling the hassle-free transfer of money under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, he said the despite the coronavirus lockdown, there was seamless fund transfer in accounts of crores of beneficiaries.

As part of the EASE reforms, the doorstep banking initiative is envisaged to provide convenience of banking services to customers at their doorstep through universal touch points of call centre, web portal or mobile app, the finance ministry said in a statement. The services will be rendered by doorstep banking agents deployed by selected service providers at 100 centres across the country, it said.

At present, only non-financial services—like pick up of negotiable instruments such as cheque, demand draft, pay order, etc., 15G /15H forms, IT/GST challan, request for account statement, delivery of term deposit receipt, among others—are available to customers.

Financial services shall be made available from October, it said, adding the services can be availed by customers of public sector banks at nominal charges. The services shall benefit all customers, particularly senior citizens and the differently-abled, it added.