Plans to scale up services, touch 100-million customer base by 2015

New York/Mumbai, 16 October 2013 - FINO PayTech, a leading payments technology company and India's largest alternate channel for banking services, announced plans to join the Business Call to Action (BCtA) and scale up its business and banking technology platform as well as its branchless banking solutions in rural India. FINO PayTech is a for-profit business entity that is working to promote financial inclusion by providing low- cost and smart technology. As part of its BCtA commitment, the company plans to expand its existing platform to deliver a range of comprehensive financial service products. FINO's ground-breaking banking technology solutions and services are provided in key regions across India. Their value-added delivery services are designed and developed keeping in mind the needs of illiterate, poor and rural consumers.

The commitment with the BCtA will extend the reach of FINO's wide range of products to the Indian marketplace. The company has pledged to serve 100 million under-banked customers by 2015 and to expand FINO PayTech services to 500 districts by 2015.

Through its unique branchless banking and interest in deploying special technology for the underserved market, FINO is on the cutting edge for enabling financial inclusion in India, said Sahba Sobhani, Acting Programme Manager. We are pleased to have them join the Business Call to Action and share their critical expertise in India's employment and financial inclusion efforts. We are encouraged by the company's technology products and services that will go a long way to bridge the banked-unbanked gap.

Founded in July 2006 and headquartered in Mumbai, India, FINO PayTech has pioneered the bank-led model of branchless banking across India. FINO is not a bank, but rather a technology and operations provider that acts as a conduit between financial services providers and their customers.

The company has rapidly expanded and continues to play a vital role in bringing financial inclusion to the financially underserved population in India. FINO PayTech is also a key leader in enabling financial institutions to source and service low-value transaction customers and deliver financial services (savings, credit, remittances and insurance) effectively to customers doorsteps.

We are pleased to be associated with the BCtA as it provides FINO PayTech a strategic advantage of sharing ideas with experts on a global platform. This is in line with our commitment towards making complete financial inclusion a reality and thereby contributing to making the world a little better, said Mujahid Ahsan, Vice President of Products for FINO PayTech.

The company also plans to generate local level employment in villages by increasing the banking agent workforce to 100,000 by 2015 and expanding its services to other key regions, including Bangladesh and Africa.

For more information, please contact:

BCtA: Karen Newman, karen.newman@undp.org, +1(212)906-5194

Fino PayTech: Ismail Sheriff, ismail.sheriff@finopaytech.com , +91(916)721-5506

Business Call to Action is a global initiative that challenges companies to develop inclusive business models that offer the potential for development impact along with commercial success. The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, UK Department for International Development, US Agency for International Development, United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Global Compact, and the Clinton Global Initiative to meet the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Companies report on progress toward commitments on an annual basis. To learn more, please visit www.businesscalltoaction.org or join the conversation on Twitter at @BCtAInitiative.

FINO PayTech is India's largest alternate channel for banking and business correspondent (BC) was created in 2006 by a consortium of banks and other sectorial entities. It provides banking technology and infrastructure services to financial institutions. FINO serves over 50 million customers through 31000 transaction points spread across India. FINO works with various national and private banks in their efforts to reach out to the unbanked and unnerved population. For more information, please visit www.finopaytech.com