Yes Bank launches offline digital transactions for rural areas

To help rural masses tide over the cash crunch, Yes Bank has launched a new digital transaction service through mobile phones that do not need an internet connection.
Named as SIMsePAY, the technology is based on wafer-thin sticker attached to any SIM card of a telecom provider that sources information from a co-branded prepaid wallet linked to it.
Yes Bank launched a pilot of the service with a co-operative bank in Dehradun and will take it wide across the country.
“The sticker installs a SIM Tool Kit based application which can be accessed by the consumer on any mobile phone without the need for Internet connectivity,” Yes Bank said.
SIMsePAY allows any account holder to do money transfers, pay utility bills and other mobile banking services, without the need for smartphones or Internet.
“The pilot launch takes place against the backdrop of the government’s digital payments drive and is part of Yes Bank’s ongoing efforts to broad-base the digital payment infrastructure in India,” Yes Bank said.
The offering is based on a frugal ‘sim-sleeve’ technology, in association with Taisys Technologies, who holds global patent for the same, and has implemented the same successfully in other countries, including Kenya and China.
The co-branded prepaid wallet or card that can be loaded up to Rs 50,000 will be issued by Yes Bank or the co-operative banks’ account by the customer to carry out various types of transactions.
The bank said it plans to garner a base of 500,000 SIMsePAY users by 2017.
“Through the launch of SIMsePAY along with co-operative bank tie-ups across the country, we will effectively aid our country’s ongoing transition to a less-cash society, and eventually a cashless India,” Yes Bank MD and CEO Rana Kapoor said.
SIMsePAY will cater to the large section of Indian population who remain unbanked or under banked due to lack of access to smartphones and mobile Internet as close to 650 million are feature phones, Yes Bank said.
Yes Bank plans to launch pilots in Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa over the next 10 days.