The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday floated a consultation paper to determine whether tariffs for mobile banking services should be regulated or left under forbearance.
Though an Inter-Ministerial Group on financial inclusion has given indicative transaction charges for mobile banking, the TRAI has sought stakeholders' view on the issue.
“Tariff regulation would be crucial if adoption of mobile banking is to be encouraged, especially among the unbanked segments of the population. In such a situation, cost-effectiveness of delivery of basic financial services through mobile phones becomes an important consideration. As the main objective of the provisioning of financial services through mobile phone is financial inclusion, accordingly the main beneficiaries of these services are expected from rural and remote areas with low-income levels. Therefore, every effort should be made to keep the provisioning of the services affordable for the target beneficiaries,” the TRAI paper said.
The paper also added that the other option would be to let market forces determine the price.
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