Darshana Mhatre sells fish at Mumbai’s Dharavi. With her husband barely holding on to his job, the 30-year-old mother of three has to ensure that the money she earns from selling fish sustains her family. Till a year ago, when she fell short of money, she would turn to private money lenders, even if the interest rates were exorbitant. So when someone who called herself a ‘FINO agent’ approached Mhatre, asking her to open a bank account with the Union Bank of India, she was reluctant. Today, she is glad she took the plunge. Mhatre not only manages to saves from her daily earnings, she has also taken a loan of Rs 3,000 that she is repaying in weekly installments of Rs 225.

This is banking, as we know it, in reverse and it is changing lives in Dharavi, Asia’s biggest slum. The concept of saving for that rainy day is being brought to the doorsteps of people who otherwise would stay away from banks. So now, when Mhatre has to repay her loan installment, she doesn’t go to the bank; instead she gives it to the FINO agent who punches a few buttons on a small console and hands over a receipt to Mhatre.

FINO (Financial Information Network and Operations) is a technology and operations services provider that bridges the divide between banks, microfinance institutions and their customers.

“People do not have to go anywhere to repay their loans or operate their savings account. Business correspondents like me go to their homes or work place and do the needful,” says Mary Paripurnam, a FINO agent.

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