October 14, 2010
Mumbai, India-based Financial Inclusion Network & Operations (FINO) and NCR Corp. announced they had added remittance service functionality to the FINO NCR EasyPoint 70 – "Tijori" micro-deposit-machines (MDMs).
FINO said it has deployed its Tijori micro-deposit machines to enable customers to deposit and remit money on their own when banks are closed. The Tijori is a self-operated standalone kiosk that offers the functionality of account deposit, money transfer, balance enquiry, mini-statement and request for loan options. The goal is to bring in small deposits more frequently, encouraging greater savings and making it easier to send remittances.
The launch of remittances via FINO Tijori is an initiative in line with FINO's philosophy of bringing best-in-class products and services to the microcustomers in the country in conjunction with banks. FINO has already deployed these machines in Mumbai and Delhi and will be scaling the same up to 100 by October in selected cities.
The remitter must deposit cash in the FINO NCR EP70 – Tijori kiosk and inform the beneficiary, who then can withdraw the money at a FINO device or his bank branch.
Manish Khera, CEO of FINO, says his company serves about 19 million customers in India, and it plans to expand its offerings in the self-serve sector.
"The addition of a remittance function with NCR EasyPoint 70 – Tijori deployed by FINO or their affiliated banks at FINO branches and merchant locations will allow 19 million customers to transfer funds at their convenience and beyond banking hours by using a secure self-service channel," said Scott Sobel, vice president, emerging markets, NCR Corp.
FINO says it provides a complete technology payments platform, offering savings bank accounts, loan products, recurring deposits, remittances, insurance products and government disbursements. FINO claims it conducts more than 3 million transactions per month through its network of 10,000 agents spread in 23 states and more than 266 districts in the country