Fino Payments Bank said that it has secured approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for starting referral services of fixed deposit (FD) and recurring deposit (RD) on behalf of Suryoday Small Finance Bank (SSFB).

The RBI, in a letter, has given consent to Fino Payments Bank to perform referral services of term deposit products in the form of FD and RD as a business correspondent of its partner bank.

According to Fino Payments Bank, this is the second association with Suryoday Small Finance Bank and the first one as listed entities.

Previously, Fino Payments Bank and Suryoday Small Finance Bank partnered under which the former offered sweep account facility to the latter’s customers to address the Rs 1 lakh end of the day deposit limit, which was revised later to Rs 2 lakh.

Fino Payments Bank said that the FD and RD referral services will be offered to its more than 3.9 million customers. The service is likely to go live in the second quarter of FY2023.

Narayan Rao — Chief Services Officer of Suryoday Small Finance Bank said: “Extending the reach of our products through innovative distribution channels is critical for us. We are excited to partner and offer our term deposit services to Fino Payments Bank’s customers. We look forward to a mutually beneficial association.”

Apart from FD and RD with Suryoday Small Finance Bank, Fino Payments Bank plans to shortly begin international remittance services with a partner which had secured RBI approval for the same in January 2022.

Major Ashish Ahuja — Chief Operating Officer of Fino Payments Bank said: “Fino’s objective is to be a one stop shop for all banking related products and services. Continuous product innovation, either own or through partnerships, is one of the core pillars of our model.

“Term deposits are great financial planning and security instruments. We believe the addition of fixed and recurring deposits to our existing range of offerings will further enhance customer engagement and experience.

“We are pleased to partner with Suryoday SFB to offer these products and further strengthen our already existing association.”

  Banking industry news, Fino Payments Bank, India, Major Ashish Ahuja, Narayan Rao, Reserve Bank of India, Suryoday Small Finance Bank