Sarvatra Tech logs over 3-fold jump in Aadhaar-enabled transactions in rural India amid lockdown

Sarvatra Technologies, a payment and banking solutions provider, on Wednesday said it has witnessed a three-fold rise in Aadhaar-enabled cash withdrawal in rural areas amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said it is offering services like door-step cash delivery, deposits, funds transfer, among others in small villages and towns where ATMs and regular banking infrastructure are unavailable.

It said the monetary needs of rural India are being catered through various modes such as UPI, IMPS, AePS, ATM, micro ATM, PoS.

Sarvatra said as the government has announced the Rs 1.7 lakh crore financial support to the needy due to coronavirus pandemic, its AePS (Aadhaar enabled Payment System) platform has witnessed an exponential rise of 353 per cent in cash withdrawals.

Sarvatra's wide range of offerings have also enabled other financial institutions such as BCs (business correspondents) to successfully extend money transfer and cash disbursal services.

The financial services provider said money transactions through its platform are serving customers of over 600 small co-operatives, district as well as scheduled commercial banks apart from small finance banks in the 30 states and union territories during the pandemic.

The list also has large banks like ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, besides new generation small finance banks like Equitas, Jana and Capital, it added.

"In the 30 days of lockdown, in addition to transactions conducted at regular ATM machines, hundreds of mobile ATM Vans and thousands of micro ATMs of our banks have provided doorstep banking services across India to 15 lakh unique customers, including senior citizens," said Mandar Agashe, founder and managing director, Sarvatra Technologies.

Banking in the rural areas where Sarvatra provides its PaaS (platform as a service), services has remained unaffected in the midst of the lockdown.

With the help of Sarvatra, the rural banking industry has been able to overcome several logistical challenges that could have impeded seamless financial services during this crisis, the company said.

Its aim is to drive top technologies to the bottom of the pyramid and help financial inclusion of the remotest person, said Vallabh Bhanshali, chairman, Sarvatra Technologies.