Pre-paid cards & money transfer services a boon: No need to visit a bank to get cash

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governorRaghuram Rajan would have surely not heard about Bahadur Singh, 45. It's equally unlikely that Singh would have heard about Rajan or his oratory prowess. However, the governor's first ever speech in office on September 4 would have been music to the ears of Singh — especially when Rajan spoke about allowing mini-ATMs by non-banks, cash withdrawals from pre-paid cards issued bynon-banks and encrypted SMS-based money transfers.

Singh works as a watchman in one of the skyscrapers that overlook the sea in Walkeshwar in upmarket Mumbai. Hailing from Mathura, he has been working in Mumbai for 20 years; and sending money home to his wife was always bit of a chore. "I would go to the State Bank of IndiaBSE -0.18 % branches on Napean Sea Road or Peddar Road and stand in a queue for an hour or two. Still, I would be at the mercy of the clerks and the security guards would scold us and teach us how to stand," says Singh, recounting his ordeal.

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