The Hindu Business Line : Dhanalakshmi Bank set to take pilgrim banking to new heights

Dhanalakshmi Bank is taking financial inclusion to spiritual heights as it gears up to move men, material and even technology to Sabarimala during the annual pilgrimage season beginning tomorrow.

The Thrissur-based bank has prided itself on the unofficial ‘Banker to the Gods’ tag thanks to its decades-old relationship as bankers to two Devaswom boards while sharing the same with others for a third.

DOORSTEP BANKING

Having brought banking to the doorsteps of the 1,208 temples, Dhanalakshmi Bank has been practising ‘financial inclusion’ ahead of the rest – and decades before the term found its way into the general banking lexicon, said Mr P. Jayakumar, General Manager.

The bank is counting on its experience of catering to the needs of temples of varying sizes and profiles under the Travancore Devaswom to test its skills at a ‘much higher’ level, Mr Jayakumar told newspersons here.

The numbers are daunting: catering to an estimated four to five crore pilgrims trudging up the hill shrine during a 60-to-70-day season with Rs 120 to Rs 130 crore being generated in offerings alone.

Up to Rs 18 crore is made in coins and the rest in currency of all denominations, Mr Jayakumar said.

As bankers to the Devaswom, the bank would sift through, segregate and keep accounts of the offerings made – often running into crores every single day – to the last rupee or the coin as the case may be and make suitable book entries.

The bank is mobilising the direct services of at least 700 employees drawn from all parts of the country in this effort while at least 1,000 others are offering themselves as volunteers, said Mr Manish Kumar, General Manager, Human Resources.

TECHNOLOGY AIDS

As for technology, the bank is taking core banking facility, currency sorting machines (two each for currency and coins) and ATM facility to the ‘Sannidhanam’ (sanctum sanctorum). It has factored in footfalls of an average 300 at the ATM.

The nearest full-fledged branch is at Pampa, the main base camp for pilgrims. The bank is using the ‘seasonal branch’ window opened by the RBI to open temporary branches at upstream Erumely and Nilackal, besides the hill shrine.

All these branches will be linked to the core banking system to make available the entire spectrum of customer services. The bank has not bothered to see if the operational and logistical investments break even at all – it is content with its pilgrim-friendly image and the goodwill generated, said Mr Jayakumar.

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