Bharat Financial Inclusion (formerly SKS Microfinance) said it is planning to set up 2 lakh touchpoints across 16 states in partnership with leading banks. These touch points will be essentially kirana shops and the company said its borrowers can walk into the nearest kirana/merchant store to make basic financial transactions. The company said it will appoint agents to set up these service points and existing kirana stores/cloth stores and other such merchants from local villages fit in the profile of a touch point. These merchants are from the existing borrower family of Bharat Financial, who have availed microfinance from the company to set up or expand business, it said. The company claimed with this set-up, it has become the first entity in India to launch 100% digital financial inclusion. M.R. Rao, MD and CEO of the company said kirana points will eliminate, for rural borrowers, the past insurmountable obstacles like PINs, and usher in the most convenient cash-in, cash-out points featuring biometric authentication and friendly neighborhood guide.
