Digital banking units (DBU) in 75 districts, announced in the Budget the Union Budget 2022-23 by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to commemorate the 75 years of the country’s independence (Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav), is expected to become operational by July this year. The setting up of DBU was initiated to ensure that the benefits of digital banking reach every part of the country.
To facilitate this, the Reserve Bank of India released guidelines on Digital Banking Units (DBUs) last month. Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) stated in a statement released, that digital banking units will be considered banking outlets and each unit should be housed distinctly, providing separate entry and exit provisions.
It also added, “All the public sector banks, 10 private sector banks, and 1 small finance bank have already initiated the work to have these units operational by July 2022”.
As per the guidelines issued, it is mandatory for each DBU to offer some minimum digital banking products and services — both on the asset (loan) and liabilities (deposits) side. In addition to that, digital banking units are expected to switch to delivering structured and custom-made products by using their hybrid and high-quality interactive capabilities.
