India's Little Shops Are a Big Bank Network in the Making
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East|1 April, 2018

Most Indians still rely on cash. Can the corner store bridge the gap to digital money?

Anto Antony and Marcus Wright
India's Little Shops Are a Big Bank Network in the Making

It may look like an ordinary watch and mobile phone shop, but for many people in its south Mumbai neighbourhood, it’s basically the local bank branch. The proprietor, Rakesh Sharma, is one of hundreds of thousands of shopkeepers making money transfers, deposits, and withdrawals on behalf of customers at all hours of the day and late into the night.

Corner shops, tailors, pharmacies, and even doctors’ offices are adding these simple financial services as a sideline. Sharma, sitting behind his computer in the Mayuresh Watches & Traders shop founded by his father, says these services are his “mainstay income” now. He takes in so much cash—a couple of million rupees every day, the equivalent of roughly $30,000—that he or his brother must make a run to an actual bank branch almost every other hour to lessen the risk of being robbed.

India has been trying to get people to use digital payments and banks instead of cash. Hundreds of millions of people have been signed up for bank accounts for the first time, and the government has asked state-owned lenders to open branches in or near every village. A surprise move in 2016 to invalidate some existing bank notes, forcing people to line up to exchange or deposit them, was seen as a boost for smartphone-based digital- wallet services such as Paytm. But those companies tend to target relatively affluent Indians. Another group of online financial-services providers is reaching the rest—the vast majority of the population that’s largely sticking with cash but still needs ways to make small savings deposits, pay bills, send money to family in faraway states, or pick up cash sent by relatives working abroad.

Denne historien er fra 1 April, 2018-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra 1 April, 2018-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK MIDDLE EASTSe alt
Golfing With The Enemy
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Golfing With The Enemy

Did Donald Trump's executives violate the Cuban embargo?

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 16, 2016
Super-Rich Syrians Wait for War's End
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Super-Rich Syrians Wait for War's End

Actor, author, playwright. Gill Pringle tries her hand at unravelling the mystery behind this enigmatic multi-hyphenate

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 01, 2016
Pam Codispoti
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Pam Codispoti

The mastermind behind the industry-shaping Chase Sapphire Reserve Card sets her sights on banking

time-read
2 mins  |
January 16, 2018
This Time It's The Economy
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

This Time It's The Economy

President Rouhani’s budget sets offprotests from people angry about unemployment and inflation

time-read
5 mins  |
January 16, 2018
Saudi Prince Counts On Support Of Citizens
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Saudi Prince Counts On Support Of Citizens

State-worker salary increases appeal to the people, but policy may throw the budget off track

time-read
3 mins  |
January 16, 2018
Stalin's Legacy Is Choking The Ukrainian Economy
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Stalin's Legacy Is Choking The Ukrainian Economy

The government has resisted pressure to lift a ban on land sales, despite pressure from the IMF and investors

time-read
4 mins  |
January 16, 2018
Catastrophe Bonds Survive A Stormy Year
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Catastrophe Bonds Survive A Stormy Year

The turbulence of 2017 couldn’t destroy a market for betting against disasters

time-read
3 mins  |
January 16, 2018
Riding The West Bank's Credit Boom
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

Riding The West Bank's Credit Boom

Increased consumer lending is creating a bubble in the West Bank

time-read
3 mins  |
January 16, 2018
You'd Be Crazy To Buy Pizza With Bitcoin
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

You'd Be Crazy To Buy Pizza With Bitcoin

Speculative fervour makes the cryptocurrency clumsy for commerce

time-read
3 mins  |
January 16, 2018
What If The President Loses His Party?
Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East

What If The President Loses His Party?

Trump has to figure out a way to work with Republicans in Congress, or the global economy may be at stake

time-read
6 mins  |
August 16, 2017