Some 2500 post offices in the country are already linked by a core banking system and they are ready to function as banks, says communication and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The department of posts is expecting to be given a license to operate a private bank. The minister said he wants to change the profile of the post office by extending its service to the poorer section of the people and it has applied for a payment bank licence with the RBI to bring a large section of unbanked populace of the country into the banking space. At present, post offices offer savings bank accounts, but cannot have credit or overdraft facilities. Under payment banking licence an entity would be allowed to accept deposits, facilitate remittances and payments, but cannot lend.
