India’s biggest bank SBI said it intends to recruit around 15,000 business correspondents this fiscal, who will assist rural people to open bank accounts.
A top SBI official said, “In order to expand our presence in the unbanked areas, the bank intends to hire around 15,000 (business correspondents) in 2010-1”.
The official said as it is impossible for banks to open branches in each village, a business correspondents and business facilitator model will aid in taking banking facilities to every portion of the country.
Business correspondents are people who aid rural people open bank accounts, and simplify banking transactions. Their main role is to take deposits and send money.
According to the Reserve Bank’s guideline, banks can hire retired employees, ex-servicemen and retired government employees and other entities, as laid down by the central bank, as business correspondents.
But when hiring such agents as business correspondents, banks should find out that they are well established, have good reputation and enjoy the trust of the local people, it said.