How micro-ATMs can provide access to basic banking to every rural citizen?

When the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit us, we were still struggling to adopt and adapt to different economic activities and digital platforms, starting with essential services such as banking, healthcare and education. While the urban population was better positioned in this respect, India’s rural communities faced multiple challenges to sustain their livelihood and carry out even basic activities.

The COVID-19 pandemic was followed by the next economic slump in India, and therefore the digitisation process, which has been happening on a rapid scale, especially since 2014 with Digital India, was further fast-tracked.

For the country to grow equitably, however, there is a need to ensure that all segments of the society, particularly those that reside in rural India constituting over 65 percent of India’s total population, move forward as well with the same facilities and opportunities. The growth and success of any economy today, across nations, depends on the access of all sections of its population to the formal financial and digital ecosystem, both of which form the backbone of today’s digitally native economy. In a large economy like India, growing the rural fintech ecosystem offering niche financial services, albeit challenging, can play an important role in bringing basic banking services to Indian hinterlands.