Sakchyam’s Branch Less Banking Initiative Gathers Momentum
The UKaid Sakchyam Access to Finance Programme has partnered with banks and financial institutions to establish a total of 364 Branch Less Banking touch points (BLB) in 32 districts. Of the 364, 173 are being established in earthquake-affected districts, whereas 191 are being established in the mid- and far-western development regions. Due to the April 25, 2015 earthquake, a large number of branches of BFIs were severely damaged, affecting the quality and access to financial services in the 14 most affected districts. To this end, Sakchyam partnered with 7 commercial banks through a competitive process to launch the ‘Sakchyam Earthquake Response BLB Programme’ to restore financial and banking services in the affected areas as well as to expand the outreach of financial institutions to move relief money in an efficient and transparent manner. As of March 31, 2016, the programme has launched 123 BLB touch points across all 14 of the earthquake-affected districts. Sakchyam is also partnering with 8 BFIs for the establishment of 191 BLB touch points in the Mid-Western and Far Western Development Regions of Nepal (Figure-3). As of March 31, 2016, 13 BLB touch points have been established and have started operations.
Transactional and Performance Updates Till Date
- The services available through the BLB touch points include deposit and withdrawal facilities, balance enquiry, money transfer, printing of mini statements, mobile phone top-up and utility bill payments. The availability of BLB services at nearby places has been very beneficial to the locals as it has saved time and money spent on travelling to and from town centers and village hubs to avail simple banking facilities.
- The total amount of deposits collected by Sakchyam’s partner BFIs through the BLB touch points as on March 31, 2016, is NPR 17.97 million. The total deposit has been increasing at an impressive average rate of 16% per week.
- A total of 6,883 new customer accounts have been opened by Sakchyam’s partner BFIs through the BLB touch points. The number of account opened has been increasing at an average rate of 12% per week. (Figure-2) The BLB touch points have performed a total of 10,952 transactions. The number of transactions has been increasing at an average rate of 12% per week.
Before Sakchyam’s intervention, there were around 500 BLB touch points across Nepal out of which only 300 were operational. With the addition of Sakchyam’s 364 BLB touch points, the total number of BLB touch points will reach around 900. Besides the BLB touch points already commissioned till date, Sakchyam is continuously seeking more partners who want to contribute to the BLB initiative. As such, the number of BLB touch points could potentially be greater than currently estimated.
For more details, download the complete Branch Less Banking Programme Update here.
