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Remittances: ICICI Builds Technology-Based Financial Literacy Services and Remittances Products for Rural Markets
Topic : Insurance
This brief article describes the experience of ICICI Bank in relations to its innovative approach in providing remittance services. ICICI has discovered that, in India, there is a large untapped rural market which lacks awareness of financial services as well as convenient access to remittance delivery services. To service this market, ICICI faced two challenges: first, designing a tailored product specific to these customers and, second, providing them with easy access to funds. To address the needs of the rural population, ICICI decided to pilot a rural remittance product.
This article begins by providing background to the pilot project and then discusses the different phases of the scheme. Phase 1 covered designing and simplifying access via technology through the use of ATMs and Cash Agent Model. Phase 2 then covered designing the products. Finally, phase 3 covered financial literacy, marketing and launching the pilot product.
The final sections provide a brief discussion on the challenges and opportunities, the implications for institutions offering microfinance services, the future plans of ICICI, and the impact of the innovation on businesses.