India Post to Start SBI Buddy Wallet Service in Post Offices

In order to move towards digitization of cash transactions at post offices for its Saving Bank Customers, Department of Posts (DoP) has approached the State Bank of India to provide customized services of State Bank Buddy wallet for branches of Post Offices. Cashiers/Postal Assistant at authorized Post Offices will accept two kinds of withdrawal forms from their Saving Bank customers. One for withdrawing cash and other for loading their Buddy wallet.

Draft of process flow is summarized below:

1. DoP would like to open wallets for their identified Post offices across India.

2. To begin with, DoP will start with 1000 Post Offices and then extend to larger no. of Post Offices. All these Post Offices will be provided with a smart phone, by the respective Divisional Heads/Chief Postmaster/Sr. Postmasters. These phones Will be the assets of the post Office concerned and Will be the deposited in the treasury at end of the day. At the beginning of the day the phone will be given to the SB Cashier handling the Buddy wallet.

3. State Bank Buddy wallet will be downloaded from Google play /Apple store and wallet account will be registered on these (Post Offices’ Official) Mobile Numbers.

4. Sansad Marg HO will be assigned as a nodal office for SBl buddy. DoP will share with SBl the list of mobile nos. to be used on Post Office counters. Against each mobile no. in the list, name & address of PO along with other details considered important for accounting and MIS.

5. SBI will prefund all 1000 post office e-wallet accounts with Rs.20,000 (each wallet to be topped up with Rs.20,000).

6. Cashiers/Postal Assistant at Post Offices will pay to their (PO) customers, through P2P facility (using “Send Money/Ask Money) against special withdrawal forms presented by the customers.

7. At 4.30 pm each day, Buddy Team at GITC will send MIS to NDMB (Sansad Marg) & Sansad Marg HO containing the amount consumed by each PO wallet during the day.

8. At the closure of Post Offices? customer dealing, 3:00 pm State Bank Buddy team will run a scheduled job and block all these wallets so that no further transactions can be made on that day.

9. Buddy team will generate Daily Transaction MIS of these wallets post office wise and share it with DoP

10. No PO wallet will be topped up during the day for increased requirement etc.

11. Buddy team will unblock these wallets in SOD (Start of Day) so that wallets will be operational for use.

1- Between Customer & Cashier/Postal Assistant

i. Customer should download buddy wallet from play store or apple store. Assistance may be required. The cashiers/Postal Assistant will be trained by SBI.

ii. Customer should use 'Ask Option" in Buddy giving mobile number of the Cashier.

iii. The statement of transactions on the wallet of the cashier can be made available by the Bank

At Post office

i. Debit SB account of customer

ii. Credit Wallet Account of customer

Reconciliation

The individual PO will download the Buddy report, check it against the transactions made and will

(A) Either confirm that the report tallied with the transactions done in the post offices, to the nodal office.

Buddy Wallet team (gmdigicomm@sbi.co.in) Sansad Marg HO will pay SBl Sansad Marg main branch at the end of the day as per demand raised by them. In the case of any dispute which is raised by post offices as per para B above, the adjustment would be made next day.