Customers of Kerala Gramin Bank (KGB) and Pragathi Krishna Gramin Bank (PKGB), the two regional rural banks (RRBs) sponsored by Canara Bank in the South, can now utilise the immediate payment service (IMPS) to make instant inter-bank electronic fund transfer using mobile handsets, Internet and ATMs.

The two RRBs of Canara Bank became the first rural banks in South India to offer the IMPS service for their customers on Wednesday.

IMPS is the real-time payment system provided by the National Payments Corporation of India.

Unlike NEFT, which is available only during banking hours on working days, IMPS is available anytime, 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Key for mass banking Launching the IMPS, PS Rawat, Executive Director and Acting MD and CEO, Canara Bank, said mobile banking holds the key to the success of mass retail banking. Canara Bank is initially offering the IMPS service free of cost to customers of KGB and PKGB.

Three RRBs in the North — Kashi Gomti Grameen Bank, Maharasthra Grameena Bank and UP Grameena Bank — are the others that have adopted the IMPS service.

“Mobile payment system is here to stay and largely adopted by the urban consumers. There are about six lakh transactions a day. The launch of IMPS by RRBs would be a game changer and would be more useful for migrants to send money back home,” said M Balachandran, Chairman, National Payments Corporation of India.

Kerala Gramin Bank, which operates in all the 14 districts of Kerala with a total business of ₹20,940 crore tops the list of 56 RRBs in the country.

The Pragathi Krishna Gramin Bank, which operates in the 11 eastern districts of Karnataka, with a business of ₹19,467 crore ranks second among the RRBs in the country.

Related Topics