The Pink City is banking on this business correspondent
I know people here who depend on my services to withdraw money and buy rations, says Mohammad Idris, Jaipur business correspondent, Fino Payments BankIdris says his expenses have increased, but feels it is his duty to serve his customers
MUMBAI : These days, Mohammad Idris is on phone as late as 10 at night, attending calls from customers desperate for cash.
“In the last two weeks, very few people are depositing money and most customers want to keep cash in hand," says Idris, a business correspondent in Jaipur. “Customers have my mobile number and call me anytime they need cash. Of the people using my services now, almost 90% are withdrawing cash and only a few are depositing," says 41-year-old Idris, adding he has seen a drastic drop in business during the lockdown.
His shop that acted as a business correspondent (BC) outlet is shut, and therefore, he relies solely on door-to-door visits. While he used to process about 150 customer transactions every day, the number has now fallen to 40-50.
A native of Uttar Pradesh, Idris came to Rajasthan when he was 26. For the past seven years, he is a business correspondent for Fino Payments Bank. “I used to get better business before everything was shut," says Idris, adding he has to now work from 6am to 10pm to get even 50 transactions done. In India, business correspondents depend on transaction volumes to make a living, earning about 0.5% of the transaction value up to a maximum of ₹15. Some banks also pay BCs incentives for achieving targets in areas like opening new accounts. A large section of the population depends on business correspondents, or banking agents who use handheld devices linked to banks’ networks for cash transactions.
Idris says he has been practising social distancing to the extent possible and wears gloves, masks and uses sanitizers to prevent infection. “I have to visit so many homes on a daily basis that I am always at risk, but one has to keep doing one’s job despite challenges," he says.
While policemen have stopped him a few times, they have largely been good to him and allowed him to function, Idris says.
Business Correspondent Federation of India recently requested National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to allow BCs to operate round the clock. The industry lobby has also been asking for a fixed pay of ₹5,000 per month instead of the incentive-driven model at present.
Idris says his expenses have increased, but feels it is his duty to serve his customers. “I know people here who depend on my services to withdraw money and buy rations. How can I turn my back on such people for whom my services are about the basic need of food? How can I abandon such customers knowing they might not have money to buy food if I stop doing my job?" he says.
Services of business correspondents will be in high demand in the next few days as the government begins transfer of funds to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana bank accounts.
What if the government does not lift the restrictions soon? Idris says he will have work only as long as people earn money. Beyond that, he is not sure of anything.
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