Indepay Prepaid Debit Cards To Target Underbanked

Online, February 6, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Indepay Networks, an alternate payment services provider, is going to target the underbanked and unbanked urban dwellers with its prepaid debit cards. A first of its kind, the Indepay Prepaid Debit Card will extend the benefits of banking to wider audience of consumers providing them with a safe and secure solution to transact online as well as be able to deposit and transfer cash to their friends and family.

Towards this end, Indepay's Prepaid Debit Card will allow users to load money through direct deposits at banks, ATMs and through online funds transfer from existing bank accounts, as well as by making deposits at any Indepay merchant or partner. The funds deposited can then be utilized to purchase goods and services through Business Correspondents at retail points of sale as well as be withdrawn as cash from Indepay's merchant and partner network enabled as Business Correspondent, cash advances at PoS or through ATMs.

Spurred by the RBI's recent initiatives towards building a strong and accessible payments framework Indepay's Prepaid Debit Cards provide an attractive solution for housewives, youth & students who may not have personal bank accounts as well as for the over 100 million circular contractual and semi-formal industrial wage earners who leave their home to work in bigger cities. Indepay's solution builds on the current rural banking infrastructure which consists of about 30,000 bank branches and 1,20,000 post offices, helping transfer funds to beneficiaries in a seamless manner.

Speaking on the product, Rajib Saha, President and CEO, Indepay Networks said, "With over 60% Indians not having access to banking and banking related credit facilities, the product offering in the form of prepaid debit cards is creating a viable ecosystem of transactions which is easy and convenient. Consumers can use their cards for online shopping, mobile based transactions, and at all existing PoS devices and even at ATMs."

"The solution directly caters to the growing need for electronic payment transactions where underbanked and unbanked are unable to meet KYC norms," he added. Indepay believes that the earning member will load the cards for dependent family members leading such cardholders to use the cards at Indepay outlets and online merchants.

This will further be spurred by Indepay's existing proprietary scalable payment platform built over several years, unique retail distribution framework and extensive merchant service network which bring high value to its customers as well as partners such as banks, retailers, merchants and service providers. Infact, the company has already been associated with various banks including SBI to pilot this program in urban and rural areas offering Banking and Financial services for the unbanked and underbanked.

At present over 150,000 consumers are already using Indepay issued cards at over 1500 Indepay outlets for cash withdrawals, deposits and money transfers. Indepay is putting together its resources in deploying its infrastructure at 10,000 outlets in the next six months which is expected to scale to over 50,000 acceptance points within the next 12 months.

Indepay is looking to further scale up its operations significantly in the coming 100 days where it shall announce several partnerships with Banks, Financial Institutions, Prominent business houses and retail players for co-branded issuance of prepaid debit cards. Indepay proposes to partner with small and medium enterprises, large corporate houses, urban neighborhoods, online merchants and retail chains as part of its acquisition strategy to acquire over 14 million cards in the next 5 years.

Suresh Rajpal, Founding Director, Indepay Networks said, "I firmly believe that user experience is key to the success of any evolving product for the masses in the marketplace and Indepay ensures that consumers get the best experience when using an Indepay card. Our product allows the enrolled customer, to access his money anytime, anywhere, for any spends - through existing ATMs, PoS network as well as for the transactions they make through their mobile phones."