India Post Payments Bank Wins Top Award for Digital Payments in 2024–25

The Union Finance Ministry's Digital Payments Award 2024–2025 went to India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) for its efforts to promote financial inclusion and provide access to cash-lite transactions nationwide.

IPPB MD & CEO R Viswesvaran and CGM G Rai Bansal received the trophy in Delhi from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and MoS (Finance) Pankaj Chaudhary. According to a government statement, IPPB received a "special mention" last year and finished first among all payments banks on the Department of Financial Services' (DFS) performance index for FY 24–25.

India Post Payments Bank gets Digital Payments Award

The Ministry of Finance recently acknowledged India Post Payments Bank with the top prize for digital payments for FY 2024–2025. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary presented the awards during a ceremony at New Delhi. In the DFS Performance Index, IPPB ranked first out of all Indian Payments Banks and was given special mention for its efforts in FY 2023–2024.

What is India Post Payments Bank?

Established in 2018 as a fully government-owned subsidiary of the Department of Posts, IPPB uses smartphone biometric kits to provide presence-, cash-, and paperless banking to about 2 lakh postmen and Gramin Dak Sevaks. Its network serves 11 crore consumers in 5.6 lakh villages and cities and encompasses around 1.65 lakh post offices, of which 1.4 lakh are in rural areas.

Aim of India Post Payments Bank

The government introduced the concept of Post Payment Bank, keeping in mind several things. Check the key objectives of this initiative below:

• To encourage financial inclusion in places that are underbanked and unbanked.

• To offer safe, easily accessible digital financial services by utilizing technology and the postal system.

• To support the Indian government's objective of creating a digitally inclusive, cash-light economy.

The Digital Payments Award received by the IPPB furthers the bank's mission to close the urban-rural banking gap in India and advance the Center's goal of a less cash-dependent, technologically advanced economy.