As an alternative to correspondent banking, India’s Bank of Maharashtra has launched a financial inclusion initiative in which bank staff visits villages to offer banking services directly in clients’ homes.

On specified days each month a representative from the nearest branch travels to selected villages to offer a range of banking services via laptop.

The bank has launched six of these initiatives, entitled Mahabank Gram Seva Kendras (MGSKs), on a pilot basis. In its initial stage, the program is available in the Raigad, Thane, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Pune and Satara districts; thus far, it has covered 1,215 villages within the aforementioned areas.

Bank of Maharashtra counts 1506 branches within India and is present in 23 States and 2 UTs including Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya.