BGS Signs Contract with FINO India

Vienna/Austria (2.3.2007) – BGS Smartcard Systems AG signed a contract with FINO Pvt. Ltd. for the delivery of a microfinance transaction platform based on the DUET technology.

FINO (Financial Information Network & Operations Pvt. Ltd.) is a technology and service provider based in Mumbai, India which was founded by ICICI Bank in 2006. FINO designs and implements innovative technology solutions which enable financial service providers to reach the under-/unbanked population of India providing them with a broad range of financial products and services at a lower cost.
As Mr. Manish Khera, CEO, FINO, stated: “We are delighted to have signed the contract with BGS for acquiring their services for a card system. BGS has successfully implemented nationwide card programs in varied geographies of the world. We see BGS as our long term partner, enabling a robust delivery to the end customers. FINO envisages a favorable growth in current business lines of Microfinance customers in India and other countries. The dynamics and flexibility coupled with security architecture of the offering is where we see BGS contributing in the overall solution pie.”
In general, microfinance is the provision of a broad range of financial products such as loans, payment services, money transfers, insurance and others to low-income households and, their micro enterprises which are usually concentrated in rural and thus more underdeveloped areas. Client access and efficient provision of banking products (financial inclusion) for the under-/unbanked segment of the population especially in rural markets, usually fails through missing branch infrastructure which in turn is the result of a low populated environment. One of the core problems hereby is the high transaction and service costs. Creating the necessary branch and service infrastructure to reach a large number of small borrowers who require credit frequently and in small quantities, requires large investments in service outlets and personnel and still remains a major hurdle.
Thus, in order to offer financial services of the formal banking system to the majority of the poorer sections of the population, adequate technology solutions such as DUET are required. The DUET multipurpose system platform has been geared to offer financial institutions, operating in rural and urban cash dominated mass markets, the means to provide a flexible and profitable financial card based solution. In order to achieve the necessary outreach and functionality in areas lacking telecom and branch infrastructure, smart cards utilizing the offline card-to-card transaction conception are the basis of the solution. The usage of biometric terminals for client verification and authentication will greatly increase the ease of use and facilitate the access for illiterate people.
The establishment of a full-coverage, low cost agent network will enable Banks and Microfinance Institutions (MFI) to successfully tap into the microfinance market, using one common system platform. A market which aggregated represents a more than sizeable commercial value and strategic interest, both socially and economically.