Red would be proud

Red would be proud.
 
You know Red, the black dude in the famous Hollywood prison break movie, who, in a moment of inspired wisdom, (one that can only be arrived at by spending enough time amongst con men and murderers and occasionally getting beaten to a pulp and after reflection of that wretched existence), said, “Hope is a good thing.”  
 
So yeah, Red would be proud of India’s payments banks. These banks, like Airtel, Paytm and Fino are singing the Hope song like it is time for Obama Part II.
 
Two points should make you feign interest in this unique, hope-MLM scheme. 
 
Point No. 1: Banking Correspondents (BCs) are opening payments bank accounts again. Two or three a day. They are doing physical Know Your Customer (KYC) and not electronic. The damn thing costs more money. 
 
Point No. 2: R Gandhi, the former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and now an advisor to Paytm, said there was an expectation that payments banks will make money out of payments and remittances. “But there is a change with the entire payments ecosystem as no one is willing to pay for payments,” he said.
 
You hear that, Red!
 
The history of payments banks is a picturesque story of tragedy set in a Scandinavian small town. I know this because this is the stuff I watch on Netflix after I’m done with The Ken. 
 
I can’t imagine why payments banks continue to exist. After India’s Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has clobbered them with one regulation after another, they have seen it all. Tied up in knots. Banned from conducting business. 
 
My colleagues Sidhartha and Arundhati have a fine story on them. This story is free and you can read it here: https://the-ken.com/story/payments-banks-struggle-move-beyond-payments/

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