Plan to offer banking services at petrol pumps

The new banks are overwhelmed to tie up with the petrol pumps, as they act as the mainstay of the transport system in Indian highway lines

New Delhi: The banking sector is all set to hit the new level, as the Union Petroleum Ministry is planning to tie up with banks to provide financial services at petrol pumps across the country.

By sensing the banking buzz in the online and the mobile wallets sectors, the ministry has proposed a new project. According to which, it is planning to tie up the network of 86,000 petrol pumps with banks to set up manned kiosks within the petrol pumps limits.

The respective proposal was taken up by the Consultative Committee of Parliament for the Petroleum Ministry, headed by Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. According to the proposal, the Petroleum Ministry will work along with the Finance Ministry and the Skill Development Ministry in order to prepare a comprehensive component.

Founder and CEO of mobile payments firm Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the new banks are overwhelmed to tie up with the petrol pumps, as they act as the mainstay of the transport system in Indian highway lines. The motto of this move is to provide banking services on the highways and the regions where the banking sector is yet to reach.

Chairman of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BCPL) S Varadarajan said: “The new payment banks and insurance firms will have an option to sell their products at our retail outlets." The RBI has recently approved 11 applications, including that of Paytm, for setting up payment banks.

These promoters are not looking at setting up new branches of their own but aim to leverage other existing networks.

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