DakPay of India Post Payment Bank

“DakPay” is an application launched by India post payment Bank as a part of its ongoing initiatives to provide digital financial inclusion to the country. The application was launched by the Union Minister for communications, law and Justice and electronics and information technology Sri Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Key features

• The customers of India post payments bank and the department of post can now operate their banking services digitally through the mobile application DakPay.
• The application provides online services to postal products and banking.
• The application also allows the users to order and avail postal financial services at their doorstep.
• Through the application the customers can send money by implementing domestic money transfers and scan the QR code and make payment for merchants.
• Application also enables cashless ecosystem through biometrics.
• It provides interoperable banking services to the utility bill payment services and also to the customers of any banks.
• The application is currently available only in Google Play Store and not in Apple App store.

How will DakPay resolve challenges faced by IPPB?

The following are the challenges faced by IPPB

• According to the Reserve Bank of India rules, the payment banks have to invest at least 75% of the total demand deposits in government link securities. This target is highly difficult to achieve for the IPPBs.
• The lack of infrastructure in the remotest rural areas of India is highly challenging for the survival of India post payment bank. The Government of India had planned to make the postman a mobile bank in these regions. However, electricity and internet connectivity are still an issue.
• Currently India post is running under revenue deficit. In 2016- 17 India post had revenue deficit of 11,969 crores of rupees. In 2015- 916 the revenue deficit was 6000 crores of rupees. This shows that the revenue deficit has almost double in a very short period of time.

The infrastructural and electricity problems faced by the IPPB will be solved by the application. It will thus increase the transactions and usage of the bank digitally, eventually increasing its revenue.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2020