Policy tweaks can help white label ATMs expand rural reach

Policy tweaks can help white label ATMs expand rural reach: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/banking/policy-tweaks-can-help-white-label-atms-expand-rural-reach/article7358558.ece

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Gold coins will soon be available with buyback facility

NCDEX launches gold forward contract to cut imports

In a first, commodity exchange NCDEX plans to sell gold coins with a buyback facility, but only when the new forward contract ‘Gold Now’ launched on Thursday enters the second stage.

While various banks sell gold coins, so far no one is offering the buyback option, making things difficult for the consumer when he/she wants to sell. The new NCDEX arrangement gives consumers an exit route.

The ‘Gold Now' platform, an online market for buying and selling gold, will accept gold recycled in exchange-approved refineries. The idea is to reduce dependence on imports by complementing the recently announced Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS).. With ‘Gold Now’, NCDEX hopes to bring out 2-5 per cent of the 25,000 tonnes of gold lying idle in homes and lockers.

“We intend to offer contracts in 5 gram, 10 gram and 50 grams coins in the next six months,” Samir Shah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NCDEX, said at a press conference here. At present, the spot trading contract is available in 100 gram and 1 kg bars.

Terming the new product a ‘new national market’ for gold, Shah said the exchange is creating an international standard ecosystem. Investors, too, will get a wider choice as they can either opt for a gold deposit scheme under the GMS, or go for the exchange-based contract.

“When you open a gold deposit account under the proposed GMS, you will get a fixed rate of 1 per cent. But on the exchange platform the returns will be market-driven. One may get 5-6 per cent returns,” he said, adding the new initiative will lead to ‘Make in India’ gold by linking up the gold recycling industry.

“We need to create an awareness in the market. Hopefully, if we get 5 per cent of an estimated 25,000 tonnes of idle gold, you can imagine the impact it will have in reducing imports,” he said. Gold demand in India, the world’s largest consumer, will not come down, but the supply side can be addressed by mobilising idle gold, he added.

Under ‘Gold Now’ contracts, one can trade in ‘imported gold’ accredited by the London Bullion Market Association as well as recycled ‘India gold’ from domestic refineries, he said. Under these contracts, gold will be compulsorily delivered to buyers from six centres — Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kochi, Hyderabad and Chennai.

To ensure quality of the recycled domestic gold, NCDEX has accredited four refineries — MMTC Pamp, Kundan, Shirpur Gold Refinery and Edelweiss Gold Refinery — as ‘Good Delivery’ gold refiners.

Postal department readying game plan to roll out payment banking service

The postal department is readying its game plan to roll out payment banking services — hoping to get a licence in a couple of months — and is closely looking at global models and preparing to hire top executives, people familiar with the matter said.

"Based on our discussions and interactions with the RBI ( Reserve Bank of India), we hope to get a nod by July," a senior official of the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology told ET. The central bank hopes to issue payment bank licences by the end of 2015, RBI Deputy Governor SS Mundra said recently.

The postal department expects to make the payment bank viable within three years of operations. Payment banks can accept deposits and can't offer credit. "Our calculations show that we will be able to generate profits of close to .`91 crore by the end of five years," the official said.

In February, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had thrown his weight behind India Post's application, saying the government hoped to utilise its vast network of about 1.55 lakh points of presence across the country to help promote schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, aimed at promoting access to financial services.

India Post has studied models of various postal bank models of China, Japan, Vietnam and France to chart out its growth plan. "We have set a target of opening around 650 branches by the fifth year of operations. Additionally, we hope to have around 25,000 spokes and 1.3 lakh access points across India," the official said.

According to guidelines issued by the RBI in November, payment banks can accept demand deposits, subject to a cap of .`1 lakh per customer, and provide payment and remittance services through the Internet, branches, business correspondents and mobile banking.

Payment banks cannot offer credit facilities directly, although they can act as agents of commercial banks for credit and other services.