Future Group today said it has filed application for the payments bank licence with the Reserve Bank of India. The group said the banking entity would be called NuFuture Payments Bank. The proposed payments bank will work towards extending the RBI’s mandate of financial inclusion through focusing on Future Group’s core consumer groups that include women, migrant workers, self-employed people as well as farmers and local entrepreneurs from the group's sourcing base, the company statement said, adding that over 320 million customers visited Future Group retail chains during 2014. Speaking on the proposal Kishore Biyani, CEO, Future Group said: “Financial inclusion and financial services is an integral part of customer proposition of leading retailers in a number of emerging markets around the world. The RBI’s vision for the payments bank offers us an opportunity to bring us closer to our goal of offering more choice and convenience to Indians that help them plan their savings and consumption better and lead to a better quality of life for everyone.” In an October 8, 2014 interview to CNBC-TV18 , Biyani had indicated that the company has solidified plans on the idea to partner with somebody or to do it on its own. “We believe the need for a payment bank or a technology solution by creating a kind of a debit card bank -- how can one card become a bank, how can you deposit money, how can you withdraw money. Maybe it's a mobile application, it can be used as giving some credit also based on the credit history, money transfers. So, we have detailed out what is a business plan for this and it's coming out to be huge. The opportunity of recruiting 4.5 crore customers exists for us. I think that is a phenomenal exercise one can do.” The proposed payments bank will leverage Future Group’s extensive presence across the country to reach out to depositors through its physical presence in 168 cities across the country and rural locations in Gujarat and Punjab through its retail networks like Big Bazaar, KB’s, Nilgiris, Big Bazaar Direct and rural distribution network, Aadhar among others.
