Banks see gains from inclusion.

No-frills accounts are proving to be a growing business opportunity.SBI's business correspondent outlet in the middle of Mumbai's Dharavi's grime run by ageing LaduLal Jain which started around four months ago has brought a silent revolution for 2000 account holders there. Mr. Jain's outlet remits around Rs 1,00,000 a day.Account holders can send a maximum of Rs 10,000 on which they pay just Rs 25 as commission, he says. It earns 60% of that and the Bank keeps the rest. Jain expects to exhaust the limit of 2500 accounts very shortly and may seek permission to open more accounts. His expense is a modest Rs 20,000 on mobile phones and a printer to confirm transactions, he says. Many of his account holders are migrant workers who are permitted to furnish a limited KYC disclosure, which may even be a village identity card to open an account for deposits, withdrawals and remittances.It is a revolutionary concept said a senior SBI official closely associated with the project.Costs for banks are limited to spending on a few days training and paying the business correspondents, use of hand-held instruments and other related technological investments. SBI which has enrolled 1000 BCs in the past 3 months, plans to increase the number to 50,000 in 2 years. It aims to open up to 7.5 million no-frills accounts and extend its direct and indirect coverage to 1,00,000 villages. The Bank expects to generate Rs 2,000 crore in business by the 3rd year, and is working on various models with varying commission structures.(BS 16092010)