A complete overview about Business Correspondent: Roles and Responsibilities

Who is a business correspondent?

On behalf of the banks, Business Correspondents ensure that millions of customers receive last-mile financial services. They must carry out their activities in the ordinary course of the bank's banking activity, but via and by organizations located outside of the bank's premises. In all such transactions, the Business Correspondent or his or her agent is authorized to accept or deliver cash at his or her place of business or any other suitable location, subject to the stipulated daily / per customer restrictions. People can avail the benefits of SBI mini banking, where they can do their work in the best manner.  

Although a Business Correspondent can represent and supply banking services for multiple banks, at the point of consumer contact, the retail outlet or sub-agent of the BC should only represent and offer banking services for one bank. The terms and circumstances of the contract between the bank and the BC must be thoroughly defined in writing and subjected to legal scrutiny. The contract's guidelines should be followed by the Business Correspondent. Furthermore, Business Correspondents are in charge of performing a variety of tasks, which are detailed below:

• Identifying prospective consumers for the bank: Business correspondents work to raise customer knowledge of the bank's available saving alternatives and other financial products by identifying prospective clients for the bank. They are in charge of educating and advising their consumers on money management, debt counseling, and small loan recommendations to their target clientele.

• Delivering products and services: Business correspondents take care of collecting and managing preliminary/secondary processing of various deposit forms, which includes primary information/data verification. They are in charge of enrolling customers in a variety of financial products. Filling out different applications or account opening documents, including the nomination clause, and submitting them to the bank are also part of the process. Business correspondents perform the entire ‘know your customer (KYC) process as part of the opening requirements for their clients, which includes collecting crucial customer information from time to time. Business correspondents supervise the process of opening no-frills bank accounts and other products as permitted by technology from time to time.

• Disbursement and Collection: Business correspondents are in charge of receiving and delivering small-value remittances and other payment instruments. They are in charge of disbursing minor loans such as entrepreneurial loans, agricultural loans, group loans, and so on, in accordance with the rules of the partner banks. They are also responsible for collecting payments and fees from customers in accordance with the standards of their partner banks. They assist with the collection of principal and interest for loan products while adhering to a tight code of behavior. The business correspondents are also in charge of monitoring the loans after they have been approved. They can also become sbi csp to avail the benefits of the banking system.

• Other significant responsibilities: 

• For customers who want to close their bank accounts, Business Correspondents are responsible for informing the local branch or the main hub of the bank/NBFC. 

• When a bank account holder dies, business correspondents guarantee that the account is deactivated with the bank. 

• They also examine any risk involved with handling currency on the ground and take appropriate security precautions. 

• Business correspondents, as bank intermediaries, protect the confidentiality of sensitive customer information.

•  Most of the people will go through sbi kiosk banking where they will come across different options to pay cash.

Thus, we can say that Bank correspondents will play an important role where customers will avail themselves different benefits of the same.