Paytm Payments Bank partners UNDP to impart skill development training to rural women

Paytm Payments Bank has introduced “Paytm AshaKiran”, a new initiative,  to educate women about the financial services and create new employment opportunities across smaller towns and cities in India’s formal banking systems. Paytm Payments Bank  aims to offer skill development opportunities to rural women by training and certifying them to act as banking correspondents, a Paytm Payments Bank statement said.  

"These women can then act as a catalyst in the nationwide rollout of Paytm’s bank offerings. The bank will continue partnering with other government bodies and other such organisations to reach more women across India," it said. For the first phase, the bank has partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as part of its Disha project which is supported by IKEA Foundation to mobilise self-help groups and organise workshops in smaller cities and towns across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the statement said. 

Renu Satti, MD & CEO  of Paytm Payments Bank, said, “As a socially responsible bank, we aim to bring uninterrupted banking and financial services access to even the remotest cities and towns in our country."  "To achieve this, we are introducing our first initiative towards empowering rural women – ‘Paytm AshaKiran’. With this initiative, we aim to help women to understand the financial services sector and become self-reliant, to be a part of India’s mainstream economy.”

Last year, Paytm Payments Bank launched  ‘Paytm Ka ATM’ outlets across India that allows customers to open saving Accounts and deposit/withdraw money.  Paytm Payments Bank  said these outlets are playing a key role in offering banking services to smaller cities and towns by ensuring customers find it easy to locate an access point near them.