Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in Union Budget 2022-23 announced the setting up of 75 digital banking units in 75 districts to commemorate the 75 years of India's independence (Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav) with an objective to ensure benefits of digital banking reach every nook and corner of the country.
The progress in the pilot implementation of the project is being regularly monitored by a RBI committee, the IBA said in a statement.
As per the guidelines, DBUs of the banks will be treated as banking outlets and each unit needs to be housed distinctly, with separate entry and exit provisions, the IBA said. Each DBU must offer certain minimum digital banking products and services -- both on the asset (loan) and liabilities (deposits) side, the statement further added.
The banks have the option to engage digital business facilitators/ business correspondents in conformance with relevant regulations to expand the virtual footprint of DBUs, the IBA added.
Emphasis has been given to customer education on digital journey, cyber security awareness and safeguards, it said.
"Also, there shall be adequate digital mechanism to offer real-time assistance and redress customer grievances arising from business and services offered by the DBUs directly or through business facilitators/correspondents," it said.
The new guidelines say that DBUs are expected to migrate to delivering more structured and custom-made products from standard offerings by use of their hybrid and high-quality interactive capabilities.
