Demonetisation and the subsequent currency crunch may have affected the common man’s ability to make payments for his daily needs and services. Banks everywhere are hard pressed to handle the surging demand for cash.

But as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. And for once it is not a fancied private bank that is trumpeting its ‘tech savviness’, but a simple cooperative rural bank in north Kerala.

The Tenhipalam Cooperative Rural Bank at Tenhipalam near Calicut University has adopted a novel approach to offer e-payment facility, which has brought relief to the local customers. It has developed a mobile app called Coopaisa – which enables the 21,000-odd bank customers and more than 1,000 merchandise shops within a 20 sq km area of the bank, to purchase commodities from local markets and grocery shops without the use of cash or currency.

The bank has tied up with shops, auto-rickshaws, taxis and fish vendors for payment without paying in currency, with the amount being deducted from their accounts.

Customers who have the mobile app have to scan the bar-code posted in the auto-rickshaws and fish markets or merchandise establishments after shopping and availing of related services. Those who are not conversant with the Coopaisa application have been given a one-time pin (OTP) to make transactions for any local purchase.

Describing these new initiatives as a shift from the conservative banking system to a more sophisticated digital method, the bank president, P.K.Pradeep Menon, told BusinessLine that the app has received an encouraging response from customers.

“Actually, we designed it three months back as part of the move into a completely digital mode of transaction. We never anticipated such a contingency at the time of making the order. The currency freeze has enabled us to reap the app’s benefits”, he said.

According to him, many cooperative banks are facing cash shortage in the post-demonetisation period. A situation has now emerged where customers are raising concerns about their deposited money and there is a need to regain their confidence. Shifting to a digital payment mode is the only solution to retain customers in the cooperative banking sector.

He added that his bank was the first in the cooperative sector to introduce the business correspondent model by engaging Farmers’ Club to promote various products and had even introduced micro ATMs. Today, the bank is totally digital and electronically equipped to serve its customers in all their e-payment needs.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW