'Sajilo Banking Sewa', in Pagnath village of Dailekh, a financially deprived area

July 27, 2011

Siddhartha Bank Ltd. has successfully launched its branchless banking pilot initiative under Financial Inclusion Project, 'Sajilo Banking Sewa', in Pagnath village of Dailekh, a financially deprived area in Mid Western region of Nepal. For the first phase of the launch, the bank started the branchless banking with the project on 15th June, 2011 by managing the distribution of cash under World Food Program's 'Cash for Work Program'. Apart from WFP, two more organizations, Winrock International and CEAPRED supported the project.

The pilot project involved the launch of the electronic cash delivery system using contactless smart card interacting with POT (point of transaction) machines, which captured the biometric image of the customer's fingerprints for additional security.

During the pilot project, a significant number of transactions were made using the smart card. There were a total of 474 beneficiaries; each beneficiaries was credited NPR 1,800 into the smart card. The total amount deposited in the smart cards summed to be  NPR 853,200 while the total amount withdrawn by the beneficiaries were NPR 710,750 thus resulting in the total remaining deposit in smart cards/savings of NPR 142,450. The average balance maintained per account was NPR 300 per account.

For more information please download : Smart Card Launching.pdf