La búsqueda de la inclusión financiera completa El modelo de KGFS en India

Alakudi is a remote farming village near the southernmost tip of India in Tamil Nadu State. It would take 30 minutes or more by foot to reach the nearest dilapidated bank branch, though most Alakudi residents have never bothered to make the trip. Within a short bicycle ride or walk along dirt lanes, all 2,000 households in Alakudi can reach a Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS) branch. Each branch is painted in KGFS green and orange with an open front, rows of wooden benches, a teller window, two online computers, and three uniformed staff. But the villagers’ first contact with KFGS probably would not have happened at the branch. When the KGFS branch opened in Alakudi in September 2008, staff visited every household to conduct a village and household mapping exercise to demarcate the service area for the branch. They also invited villagers to come to the branch to enroll. As part of enrollment, staff completed a comprehensive know your customer (KYC) check, including a household visit, and compiled a household financial well-being report based on data provided by each household. This report established a household profile, specified financial goals, and formed the basis for KGFS staff to recommend a tailored portfolio of two to three financial products to meet each client’s goals. KGFS staff visits each client’s home every six months to update the report and give financial advice. Since KGFS arrived in Alakudi, 76 percent of all households have enrolled; of these, 89 percent have already begun to use some of the 15 financial products available at the branch. The approach used in Alakudi illustrates how the KGFS model is being applied in various parts of India. Three core operating principles differentiate the KGFS model: (1) complete coverage of the population in a focused geographic area, (2) customized client wealth management services, and (3) abroad range of products.