Corporate Blog
Federal Bank - Corporate Blog
Welcome to the official blog of Federal Bank. This blog serves as a platform to share updates about the bank's brand activities, products, promotions, events and more with customers, partners and the public. Here you will find announcements about new products and services launched by Federal Bank, details and recaps of marketing campaigns, promotions and offers and insights about the banking industry and trends, stories about our community initiatives and corporate social responsibility work etc.
In the development of a country, an important challenge faced by every nation is the urban-rural divide. The challenges lie in the visible differences like the ease to access banking and financial products/services, availability of economic opportunities, and the difference in the quality of life. Federal Bank, a leading financial institution, aims to bridge this gap by devising strategies that foster financial inclusion and ensure every nook and corner of the country benefits from modern banking.
Innovative Steps by Federal Bank to Bridge the Urban-Rural Gap
1. Digital KCC
Agricultural lending has always faced a challenge - swift delivery of credit. In 2023, Federal Bank launched a revolutionary product, i.e., the digital version of the Kisan Credit Card Scheme that transformed rural lending. This was launched by partnering with Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH). The digital loan scheme is the first digital scheme in agricultural lending. The entire credit process became paperless and seamless, and the loan was delivered to the farmer within 5 minutes! This product aims at offering small-value loans to small farmers. It has been created to ensure efficient credit flow to the underserved rural population.
2. Financial literacy
Federal Bank understands the need to spread financial awareness among the rural masses. It has undertaken initiatives wherein branches organise financial literacy classes. Currently 175 rural branches are conducting financial literacy campaigns regularly for the general population inclusive of women, self-help groups, senior citizens, school children, etc. Federal Bank has set up Federal Ashwas Financial Literacy Centres (FAFLCs) that provide financial literacy classes and credit counselling. The centres also conduct regular ‘Going Digital’ camps to spread awareness about Digital Banking and Digital payment services, to the rural population.
3. Bank on the Go
Federal Bank has launched a transformative initiative - "Bank on the Go" to tackle the challenges that customers face in rural areas in accessing financial and banking services. In this initiative, a mobile vehicle that has inbuilt banking kiosks in addition to a leased line internet connection, travels to different locations. The vehicle provides customers in rural areas access to banking services without having to commute long distances.
4. Empowering milk farmers
- Automating payments: Federal Bank partnered with M/s Digivriddhi Technologies Private Limited (DGV) to empower the milk farmers in rural areas of Gujarat. The digitalisation project involves the automation of the payment lifecycle of the farmers supplying milk to the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation. This has enabled farmers to have digital footprints. This also helps them get access to credit at low interest rates from the formal banking ecosystem.
- Digital Bovine Loan: Federal Bank has launched a Digital Bovine Loan in partnership with DGV. This loan enables farmers to buy bovine/cattle from a digital bovine/cattle marketplace that has been created exclusively for the farmers. This is the first digital bovine loan in India that is connected to an online digital bovine marketplace where healthy cattle can be bought and sold, and farmers can get instant loans too.
Conclusion
Federal Bank has deployed a lot of digital initiatives to bridge the urban-rural divide, like organising financial literacy centres, empowering farmers with digital loans and automating payments, and offering mobile banking services to customers in remote areas. The success of these initiatives is evident from the fact that the bank serviced around 1.60 crore customers as of 31 March 2023 and 75% of the bank's customers are from the rural and semi-urban branches.