The Government of India has joined the Better Than Cash Alliance, a UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) initiative that helps enable countries to transition to electronic payments.
3 September 2015: The Government of India has joined the Better Than Cash Alliance, a UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) initiative that helps enable countries to transition to electronic payments.
The announcement was made on the first anniversary of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship financial inclusion programme, Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). In its first year, PMJDY enabled the opening of 180 million new accounts, with deposits totaling more than US$3.4 billion (223 billion Rupees). To ensure that these accounts are actively used, the Government is delivering financial products, such as credit for economic activity, remittance facilities, insurance, and pension, directly into the accounts. PMJDY focuses on citizens excluded from the formal financial sector, including women, small farmers, and laborers, and aims to increase financial inclusion.
“We have been recognized by the Guinness World Records for opening over 1.8 crore (10 million) bank accounts in a single week. As a next step, the aim is to utilize these accounts for extending insurance, pension, and credit facilities to those who are currently excluded from these benefits,” said Shri Arun Jaitley, India’s Finance Minister.
The Better Than Cash Alliance is a partnership of governments, companies, and international organizations that aim to accelerate the switch from cash to digital payments to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth. The Alliance’s goal is to help people who lack access to formal financial services such as bank accounts, and who often subsist almost entirely in an informal, cash-only economy, by delivering knowledge products that demonstrate how to implement electronic-payment solutions so that electronic payments are profitable and sustainable, while ensuring the financial inclusion and savings opportunities for those living in poverty.
The Alliance is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citi Bank, the Ford Foundation, MasterCard, Omidyar Network, USAID, UNCDF, and Visa. Countries who have joined the Alliance include: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, India, Malawi, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. [Government of India – Press Release] [UN Press Release] [Better than Cash Press Release]