Yono To Have 100 Million Users Till March: SBI Chairman

State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Dinesh Khara stated that the bank's goal of making Yono an app for every Indian will be accomplished by onboarding 100 million new customers in March 2023. As opposed to Rs 62,000 crore in FY22, the institution intends to mobilise Rs 1 trillion worth of assets using the mobile app this year. SBI currently has 450 million customers, compared to Yono's 52.5 million.
 

"After starting in February or March, we've given ourselves a year to introduce Yono to more clients. The goal is to advance it to the point where users can conduct financial transactions prior to entering their login information, as is the case with other payment apps like Google Pay, according to Khara. Yono was used to source almost 65 percent of the bank's new liabilities in the previous year. A product offering called Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is also being considered by SBI. "Basically, it's a debt that is being taken out. We can always do that, even though it may not be referred to as BNPL," Khara remarked. He continued, "The bank will need to assess BNPL's viability as a product and also work out certain technology changes."

The chairman of SBI stated that the new operations support subsidiary will assist the institution in strengthening its presence in rural India. Khara emphasised that at the moment, each of SBI's branches in the hinterland normally employs two people—an officer and a clerk—who are frequently involved in facilitating transactions. The new subsidiary's primary goals will be business development and doing tasks like creating new accounts and providing doorstep services.

"We see this as a means of assistance. Within a few kilometres, there might be a hub-and-spoke strategy, Khara said, adding that "real economic development was not happening much. We would like to better understand the opportunities in the rural economy as the rural environment is changing. The subsidiary will initially employ 2,000 people and won't be a heavily invested company.

The chairman added that during the epidemic, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) had disruptions in their cash flows. "Our MSME book has performed admirably since we reorganised it. The restructured portfolio has decreased from Rs 32,000 crore to Rs 28,000 crore, despite the fact that we had set up a provisions buffer for it, the executive added. Even the emergency credit line guaranteed scheme (ECLGS), according to Khara, only has a 1.41 percent non-performing asset (NPA) ratio. The chairman said that the bank has transitioned from balance-sheet-based lending to cash-flow-based financing for MSMEs. We are also heavily considering vendor financing, he added.