Fino Payments Bank to continue its focus on ‘emerging India’

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IPO-bound Fino Payments Bank is betting big on technological innovation and customers beyond tier-2 towns to fuel its future growth.

“While innovation remains ever-present, technology and customer trust lies at the core of all that we do and forms the foundation for our entire business model. We have and will continue to strengthen our focus within ‘emerging India’, catering to a population that we believe presents a large market opportunity and has typically been overlooked by the majority of the large Indian financial institutions,” Fino Payments Bank has said in its draft red herring prospectus, adding that this section of society is often underserved and typically does not have access to basic banking services.

Training merchants

It has also said it plans to continue investing in technology throughout its business, particularly for on-boarding and training of merchants and will also enhance its ‘phygital’ delivery model.

As of March 31, 2021, Fino Payments Bank had 6.41 lakh merchants, 17,269 active BCs and 25.7 lakh CASA accounts. It also operates 54 branches and 143 customer service points.

The bank had filed draft documents with market regulator SEBI for an initial public offer in July this year. It is looking to raise about ₹1,300 crore, including a fresh issue of ₹300 crore as well as an offer for sale component

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the lender has also seen high levels of transactions through micro-ATM, AePS networks and BC banking operations also received an impetus with increased transactions.

Decline in domestic remittance

In its DRHP, the bank however, noted that there has been a significant decline in domestic remittance transactions as migrant workers relocated from urban areas to hometown. Although its remittance transactions have largely recovered since the initial outbreak and lockdown, it currently remains approximately six per cent below its typical domestic remittance throughput.

Its CMS temporary operations were also impacted due to moratoriums on lending and reduced cash handling requirements. But as the lockdowns eased, this has quickly returned to normal transaction levels.

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Fino Payments Bank files for Rs 1300 crore IPO, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Four years after starting operations Fino Payments Bank will soon launch a Rs 1300 crore initial public offering which includes a Rs 300 crore OFS component. The Blackstone, ICICI Group and BPCL backed Fino Payments Bank said it has filed the draft documents with SEBI for an IPO.

Investment bankers Axis Capital, CLSA India, ICICI Securities and Nomura Financial Advisory Services are the book running lead managers to the IPO.

The fintech bank turned profitable in the fourth quarter of FY20 and has consistently enhanced its profitability since. “This makes FPBL the first profitable fintech to file for an IPO,” the payments bank said in a statement.

Fino serves the emerging India market with its digital based financial services. Over the last few years, the payments bank has witnessed a steep surge in transaction volumes on the back of digitization and proliferation of its banking points.

As stated in the DRHP, at the end of fiscal year March 2021 the payment bank’s platform has facilitated more than 434 million transactions having a gross transaction value of Rs 1.32 lakh crores. It has the largest network of micro ATMs as of March 2021 with a market share of 55%, a robust merchant network of 6.4 lakhs and 25.7 lakh bank accounts.

Its revenue for FY21 stood at Rs 791 crores that grew at a CAGR of 29% in last three years. The bank registered a profit of Rs 20.5 crores in FY21 with an annual average ROE of 15%, the DRHP states.



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BFSI firms put employee health as top priority as Covid rages, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, which put a severe strain on the healthcare infrastructure across India, has made BFSI firms put their employee’s health and safety on top priority.

From helping employees source beds in hospitals, oxygen facilities, critical medicines to financial assistance, BFSI firms will continue to keep their employees’ well-being even as business takes a little hit.

Max Life Insurance

Speaking at the 2nd ETBFSI Virtual Summit, Prashant Tripathy, MD & CEO, Max Life Insurance said, “Things have gotten really difficult in the last few weeks and we have had to change our course on the health, safety and well-being of our employees. We have been helping our employees in whatever way we can to tide through these difficult times.”

The private insurer has set up a platform – Call Health – which provides round-the-clock service like telephonic assessment of Covid-19 symptoms and consultations with empanelled doctors. It has also set up a dedicated helpdesk to provide reliable information about network hospitals and Covid testing labs.

Equitas Small Finance Bank

P N Vasudevan, MD & CEO, Equitas Small Finance Bank, says, “We have to go beyond the new normal as the reality has hit us hard. The first wave was unique, new for all of us and we weren’t familiar with lockdowns and everyone was taken aback. But thankfully, last year the impact of the virus wasn’t that strong as compared to the current time.”

He adds, “We’ve already lost about eight employees and it’s not possible to digest and there’s no way we can ask anyone to go out and do the job.”

He explains that businesses have to work on a different level substantially as compared to last year. The bank is internally preparing for a 3-4 year horizon and long-term timeframe as situations keep evolving.

Vasudevan adds, “Health and well-being of our staff is of paramount importance and we have set up a war-room to ensure we can do our best to support our staff.”

Muthoot Finance

Kochi-headquartered Muthoot Finance echoes the thought that the safety of employee and staff is of paramount importance.

George Alexander Muthoot, MD, Muthoot Finance says, “We’ve more than 5,000 branches across the country, some locked down, some not in lockdown. We can’t force staff to come to the branch but in the head office most of the work has gone in digital processes.”

Muthoot Finance is paying two years’ salary to the dependents of employees who have succumbed to Covid-19. In Kerala, it has tied up with two hospitals to ensure if any of their employees seek any medical assistance the same can be availed.

Muthoot adds, “Encouraging staff to go ahead for vaccination and it is the thing which will keep us going ahead and tackle the pandemic. Business will eventually come back to normal but employees’ safety and well-being are of utmost importance for now.”

Fino Payments Bank

Fino Payments Bank, dependent on its vast rural network, is also finding it hard to tackle the ongoing situation. Rishi Gupta, MD & CEO, Fino Payments Bank, says, “Everything has taken a backseat, what is not normal is that employees are getting impacted due to Covid. Our operations are spread across rural areas, we can’t tell our partners and employees to go out and get the business done in times like these.”

He believes that these will have a long-term impact on how businesses are being done and will change dramatically as situations evolve.

Gupta adds, “For now the priority is to ensure employee safety and wellness with a high level of communication throughout the time. Trying to move as much as we can towards digital operations and processes along with empathy & assistance towards employees and their families.”



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In ‘no rush’ to become an small finance bank: Fino Payments Bank

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Payments banks will not be nagetively impacted because of the Covid, Gupta said.

Fino Payments Bank (FPBL) is focusing on making itself bigger and has “no rush” to convert itself into a small finance bank (SFB), as it does not want to get into the high-risk lending business right now amid the Covid pandemic.

The bank will decide on converting itself into an SFB after the Reserve Bank of India comes up with the specific guidelines and the overall banking ecosystem, especially the asset side, stabilises.

“Right now, if you ask me, lending businesses are going through their own pain. Especially, small finance banks are facing challenges because of the microfinance portfolio. So, we will have to see how the lending business changes post pandemic. And, as a payment bank, we are doing quite well. There is no lending risk as such, which is good,” Rishi Gupta, MD & CEO, told FE.

“As of now, we are satisfied with what we are doing. And, we want to grow this. We will have to wait for both the guidelines on licensing to come as well as the post-Covid things to stabilise on the asset side. Only after that something we will decide,” Gupta pointed out.

Last month, the RBI doubled the maximum limit of funds account holders of payments bank can keep in their accounts to Rs 2 lakh. “We are quite happy. The RBI’s measure will help us provide more services to our customers. Right now, we are quite satisfied with the payments bank and our focus is to make it bigger and better. We are not looking at any change in the asset side as of now… Asset has become more high risk business right now,” the MD said.

FPBL had turned profitable at the operating level in FY2019-20. “Since then, the profit and income have been growing in every quarter,” the MD said, adding in the last four years the bank’s volume of business grew by 9-10 times. At the end of March 2021, monthly total value of transaction, including both digital and non-digital modes, was around Rs 14,000 crore compared to Rs 8,500 crore in the year ago period.

“Our monthly transaction figure was down in April because of the second Covid wave and lock downs. Figure in May is better than April. And, I think as the number of new infections continues to drop, more people start recovering and getting vaccinated, the number will start to grow again. Payments banks will not be negatively impacted because of the Covid,” Gupta said.

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Fino Payments Bank goes live with enhanced deposit limit of Rs 2 lakh for MSMEs, small traders, others

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Fino Payments Bank has 410 branches and more than 25,000 banking points. (Image: Fino Payments Bank)

Fino Payments Bank on Wednesday announced increasing its end-of-the-day account balance limit to Rs 2 lakh for customers including MSMEs, small traders, and retail customers. The bank, which became profitable in the fourth quarter of FY20, went live with the enhanced limit effective May 1, 2021. The move was in line with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) announcement last month to increase the maximum balance limit at the end of the day for payments banks to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1 lakh earlier in order to boost financial inclusion. “After reviewing the performance of payments banks and to encourage their efforts for financial inclusion it was decided to enhance the limit of maximum balance at end of the day from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per individual customer,” a notification by RBI on April 7 had said.

“The increased deposit limit allows our customers to save more money in their account. Further, our existing sweep account mechanism continues with our partner bank wherein customers can save funds in excess of Rs 2 lakh,” said Ashish Ahuja, COO, Fino Payments Bank. Up to Rs 2 lakh in the Fino account, the existing savings interest rate will be applicable while funds in the sweep account will get interest rates as set by its partner bank Suryoday Small Finance Bank.

Also read: RBI’s relief measures for MSMEs: 4 key takeaways from Shaktikanta Das speech; experts opine mixed bag

Fino Payments Bank’s micro ATM and AePS enabled financial services distribution network including 410 branches and more than 25,000 banking points allow people to open a new bank account, get debit cards, do deposit, withdrawal, or money transfer transactions, pay utility bills, loan EMIs, and buy health, life and motor insurance. Unlike regular banks, payments banks are not allowed to lend money to their customers, they can’t open Fixed deposits or recurring deposits, and also can’t allow a balance of more than Rs 1 lakh in any account. Currently there are five other RBI-approved payments banks operating in the country viz., Airtel Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank, Paytm Payments Bank, Jio Payments Bank, and NSDL Payments Bank.

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Fino Payments Bank is now a scheduled bank, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday notified that it has included Fino Payments Bank in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

“We advise that ‘Fino Payments Bank Limited’ has been included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 vide Notification DoR.NBD.No.2138/16.03.005/2020-21 dated January 01, 2021 and published in the Gazette of India (Part III – Section 4) dated February 13 – February 19, 2021,” notified RBI.

Benefits of being a scheduled bank under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934:

  • Becomes eligible for debts/loans at the bank rate from the RBI
  • Automatically acquires the membership of clearing house
  • Rediscount of first class exchange bills from the RBI

All banks which are included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 are Scheduled Banks. These banks comprise Scheduled Commercial Banks and Scheduled Co-operative Banks.Scheduled Commercial Banks in India are categorised into five different groups according to their ownership and / or nature of operation. These bank groups are:

  • State Bank of India and its Associates
  • Nationalised Banks
  • Regional Rural Banks
  • Foreign Banks
  • Other Indian Scheduled Commercial Banks (in the private sector)

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