IDFC Bank begins operations in region

Opens branches in Punjab and Chandigarh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 20

Private lender IDFC Bank on Tuesday commenced its operations in the region by opening its branches in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.

Over the past two years, the bank has set up 132 interoperable Aadhaar-enabled micro ATMs and 27 Aadhaar Pay merchant points across Punjab, offering ‘assisted digital banking’ services to residents of villages.

The bank said while online banking has been available earlier, with the start of these branches, customers can now open a savings account in just four minutes, using Aadhaar-based biometric authentication. The bank will roll out its full suite of products, ranging from savings and current accounts to retail loans and wealth management services.

Across the country, the bank has 142 branches, 13,000 micro ATMs and 3,400 Aadhaar Pay merchant points. The bank intends to open more branches by June taking the total tally to 200.

Speaking at the launch, Avtar Monga, Executive Director, IDFC Bank, said, “The launch of services in Punjab and expansion across the country is part of the bank’s stated intent to build a retail franchise for the masses, with a specific focus on the financially excluded and underserved segments. Our retail offering emphasises simplicity, convenience and service.”

Amit Kumar, Head — Personal Banking, IDFC Bank, said, “Our objective is to offer top-of-the-line banking services to all customers —ranging from salaried individuals to merchants and small businesses, as well as the populace in rural locations. We have used technology to make banking easy, create wider reach and anytime access.”