Oxigen brings banking services closer to visually challenged

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Oxigen Services launched an initiative to support people with visual impairment to enable them to avail banking services that they otherwise till now have been eluded from.

Oxigen is a business correspondent for State Bank of India and ICICI bank, encouraging people of India towards Financial inclusion by opening ‘No Frills Accounts' for the visually impaired and the BOP masses.

This is a seamless paperless process with account authentication through a biometric device. Any person with visual handicap can access his ‘No frills' bank account and avail any banking service like deposit of cash, cash withdrawal, transfer of funds to any bank account, money remittance to third party etc.

Pramod Saxena, chairman and MD, Oxigen Services India Pvt. Ltd., said, "Providing access to banking, to people with vision impairment is a need that Oxigen seeks to address through Kiosk banking in association with its Banking partners SBI and ICICI and through a simple and easy to use Oxigen Mobile wallet, enabled with screen reading software like JAWS and Talks."

Oxigen also offers a solution to provide banking services via Oxigen Mobile Wallet, using android phones, loaded with screen reading software specially designed for the blind people, called JAWS. The Oxigen app can be used by the visually challenged very easily, as the JAWS software speaks out whatever appears on the phone screen and the person can navigate all banking related services he or she requires.

This application provides opening and operating minimum KYC account with limit of Rs. 10,000 or full KYC account with limit of Rs. 50,000 per month. From the Oxigen wallet, funds can be transferred to any bank account using IMPS interface of National Payments Corporation of India-NPCI, besides using it for a host of services like recharges, travel, utility bill payment etc.

Oxigen has been in the forefront to provide means of earning to people with visual impairment. It has completed training of five students of the National Association of the Blind (NAB), provisioning them with a bouquet of services like recharge of mobile phone/DTH, travel, Money transfer etc. using a simple PC.

It aims at training many more students of NAB and further assisting them in finding suitable locations by advocating with authorities like Railways, Airport Authority, bus stands etc.

This will provide a means of financial independence and a source to earn a livelihood to the visually impaired. Oxigen has already trained several people in Mumbai and at present several visually challenged people are successfully operating Oxigen's business and earning well for themselves.

Shalini Khanna, honorary secretary of NAB said, "It is a source of encouragement to our students to gain an entrepreneurial skill and be financially independent."