Cash-in Cash-Out (CICO)

Interoperable banking agents and devices for last-mile CICO transactions

Why:

Typically, the last mile population is overlooked when enabling financial services through digitisation. Since literacy may be low, access to the formal banking system can seem intimidating to many. They may get lost trying to navigate the complexities of modern day banking, such as conducting online bank transfers or even checking their balance. Moreover, many local businesses need physical cash and do not see much value in digital payments. The old adage reads: Banks cannot go to every village; it is simply not possible.

While banks may not be able to establish physical branches in villages, through the Digital Public Infrastructure approach, banking services can.

One of the key aspects of financial inclusion and integrating people into the formal economy is ensuring the last-mile population has access to bank accounts. However, if they don’t know how to use it, very often these bank accounts remain idle, and if any benefits are transferred to the account, they remain unreachable for the masses.

The cash-in, cash-out DPI helps solve the challenge of last-mile access to formal banking services.

What:

The cash-in cash-out system equips selected human beings to function as ‘micro-ATMs’. This means that they travel to remote areas of the country where individuals can conduct transactions through their bank accounts using the person as a ‘micro-ATM’. The individuals get immediate access to their money while remaining in the formal financial system.

Cash-In: This process involves securely transferring benefits to end beneficiaries by removing intermediaries and removing friction and costs.

Cash-Out: This process provides access to physical cash at the last mile, enabling the use of direct cash benefits payouts.

How:

The cash-in cash-out system is based on a unique national identity system. Basically, the chosen people who are acting as these ‘micro-ATMs’ travel to the last mile populations, carrying a certain amount of money with them along with an authentication device. Any individual can simply provide their bank account name, national identity number, and biometrics to authenticate that information. Using this, the micro-ATM can access their bank information on their device.

On the backend, a financial address mapper links every unique national identity number to an individual’s bank accounts. Once the bank name is provided by the individual, the system can accurately connect to bank servers, find the match, and retrieve that data for the individual to use.

Once again, by providing authentication through their biometrics, individuals can:

1. Deposit cash

2. Withdraw cash (remember, the Micro-ATM operator carries money with them)

3. Transfer money using only another person’s national ID number (no bank account details necessary)

4. Pay bills

5. Check bank balance

6. Generate a mini-statement

All these facilities are available at no additional cost to end users.

While the micro-ATMs are essentially agents of one particular bank (and receive their salary from them), they cater to customers of banks across the country without discrimination.

The benefit to banks is that it allows expansion of the society into the formal financial sector, allowing access to a variety of services which would have otherwise not been possible

Benefits:

1. Financial inclusion: It caters to the underserved sections of society while elevating them to the next level by providing them with access and empowerment through formal finance.

2. Interoperability: It allows for diverse banks to access the last mile population and enable national identity-based transactions through a central switch and clearing agency.

3. Privacy and security: The method of authentication using biometrics is inherently safe, as it cannot be forged or duplicated by the micro-ATMs. The privacy of individuals is ensured by not revealing any sensitive information and only enabling basic banking transactions through this facility.