Financial Literacy workshops in the six cities in Punjab on World Literacy Day
NewZNew (Chandigarh) : National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organization for all retail payment system in the country has initiated a first-of-its-kind ‘e-Payments Literacy Workshop’ in Punjab on the occasion of World Literacy Day. In Punjab, the six target centres were Patiala, Sangrur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Faridkot and Bathinda. Simultaneously, the nationwide event was hosted by NPCI representatives in 28 states at 120 centres supported by all 56 Regional Rural Banks’. More than 24000 participants from RRBs took part in the initiative at the same time.
Participants who have attended the workshop were familiarized with customs of ATMs and its numerous features like Cash Withdrawal, Balance Enquiry, Mini Statement enquiry etc. Consumer redressal advices and other precautionary tips on PIN change and Fund transfer were demonstrated. Security tips like mobile number registration, seeding Aadhaar with bank and LPG subsidy process were also presented. Payment solutions through RuPay card at PoS, e-comm, ATMs channels were encouraged along with NPCI’s customer friendly fund transfer services.
Shri Balachandran M, Chairman, NPCI released A ‘smart payments’ e-Book Manual that was presented to banks across all locations by NPCI officials. The booklet contains 136 basic, relevant and easy to understand FAQs on ATM transactions, RuPay Debit Cards, PoS Usage, E-commerce transactions, IMPS (Immediate Payment Service), AEPS (Aadhaar Enabled Payment Service). The process and procedures through FAQs have been divided into 5 sections based on combination of payment products and NPCI’s services like NFS (National Financial Switch), Debit Card, IMPS, AEPS and APBS (Aadhaar Payment Bridge System) which are meant to address the basic challenges faced by the consumers.
Shri Balachandran M, Chairman, NPCI said, “Digital and smart banking systems shall be accessible even in the remotest corner of our country; our initiative is to tap consumers belonging to all sections of the society and elevate their banking experience. Every citizen should be empowered with technologically-advanced banking facilities and should be eventually brought under the umbrella of mainstream banking. This workshop is aimed at motivating all our stakeholders and consumers to optimally utilise state-of-the-art payment products that are designed to suit the customised needs of customers from different strata of the society.”
Shri A P Hota, Managing Director & CEO, NPCI said, “Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have been playing a vital role in financial inclusion. Now that they have technical infrastructure and access to various payments systems through NPCI, all efforts need to be made to make their customers aware of the facilities available. Financial Literacy for these customers has the potential to bridge “India” with “Bharat”.
Cumulative sessions on the same lines have been envisioned to accelerate the Digital India initiative to transform India into a less-cash economy and mark a positive difference in the payments ecosystem. NPCI has been on the forefront to introduce several safe, secure and simple means of payments for customers and has been actively empowering its stakeholders. It is now willing to educate elementary banking fundamentals to fresh entrants and encourage usage of electronic payments in everyday lives.
