FINO PayTech gears up for microfinance expansion in MP

To disburse Rs250 crores this fiscal in existing as well as new territories in the state

Bhopal, June 1, 2015: The financial inclusion and microfinance scenario in the country is gradually undergoing a change since the last couple of years. Amidst banking and micro credit activity gaining pace in unbanked areas, FINO PayTech Limited, India’s largest business correspondent and payments bank aspirant, announced plansto expand its microfinance business in Madhya Pradesh. The company plans to reach out and provide microfinance to a large segment of state’s population (74%) residing in rural areas.

FINO PayTech started microfinance operations in 2009 and since then has serviced over 6 lakh customers across MP, UP, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka disbursing. In MP, it currentlyprovides loans to 1.25 lakh women customersbased on Joint Liability Group (JLG) model through its network of 46 branches across 29 districts in the state.

Last fiscal, FINO disbursed around Rs 200 crore to women borrowers who utilize the loan for income generating purposes like selling farm produce, goat/cattle rearing and managing small businesses. Across operating states FINO disbursed over Rs 700 crore since 2009 with a total outstanding of Rs300crores.

Explaining the need and opportunity to expand operations Rajeev Arora, Director –FINO PayTech and Head Lending Business said, “We have one of the best PAR ratios of 0.09% in the industry and credit to a large extent goes to the financial discipline of the poor women borrowers who repay loans on time. We also provide recurring deposits (RD) to our lending customers enabling them to do committed savings. Over 3 lakh customers benefited since 2009 in MP with RD deposit collection of Rs 54 crores. This is a positive and encouraging sign from a segment generally considered not bankable.”

“We believe there is still huge segment of such customers in the state with micro credit requirements and savings capabilities that need to be reached, encouraged and serviced to attain financial empowerment. We plan to target this segment and double our customer base by expanding our footprint from 122 to 175 branches across the country. More branches will be added in existing as well as a few new districts in MP by the end of this fiscal,” added Arora.

In addition to offering microfinance, FINO PayTech’s lending branches also provide access to a range of payment services to rural customers that include banking, international remittance cash out facility, micro insurance, mobile/DTH recharges, utility bill payments facilitated by Bill Desk and assisted ecommerce in partnership with Snapdeal.

FINO provides micro credit through two approaches - on behalf of banks through BC lending and directly to borrowers through its own RBI registered NBFC-MFI, Intrepid Finance & Leasing Pvt Ltd. UBI and IDBI Bank are partner banks for BC lending, while Intrepid sources funds from multiple players such as SBI, Yes Bank, IDBI, Dena Bank, Reliance Capital, MAS Financial and IFMR.

About FINO PayTech:
FINO PayTech is a payments technology solutions provider to banks, financial institutions and MFIs. Together with its extensive service delivery network of 28000 transaction points facilitates access to financial services to the unbanked and un-served segments of the population. It services over 28 million active banking customers spread across urban and rural areas in the country providing a range of financial services viz savings, remittance, insurance, credit etc. (www.finopaytech.com)