Mumbai, April 5: GI Technology, a provider of payment and financial inclusion solutions, has said banks and other entities were willing to partner it for a payment bank.

The Chennai-based company is one of the 41 applicants to seek the RBI's approval to set up a differentiated bank.

According to the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, payment banks will provide small savings accounts and payments or remittance services to migrant labourers, low-income households, small businesses and other unorganised entities. They, however, cannot lend.

Reliance Industries has teamed up with the State Bank of India and Airtel will partner Kotak Mahindra Bank to set up such banks.

Ramu Ramsamy, managing director of GI Technology, told The Telegraph that the company did not rule out the possibility of joining hands with another entity if it was successful in getting approval from the RBI.

"We will form strategic alliances with companies who share our vision of providing better products and services to our customers at affordable prices by harnessing technology and becoming more productive. This will help us serve our under-banked customers better and we will partner companies that share our values of integrity and commitment to comply with all laws, rules and regulations,'' Ramsamy said.

GI group has two arms - GI Technology, which provides payment and financial inclusion solutions; and Hermes that offers travel and retail services.

It is the country's largest domestic money transfer player, the second-largest business-to-business air ticket distribution company and the largest online railway e-ticketing and distribution company.

One of its popular products is I Cash prepaid card, which is now sold through a network of 80,000 agents.

While the group conducts around 2-3 lakh transactions daily through the agents, it has been expanding its presence in small cities having a population of less than or just above 10,000. It has also expanded in the eastern and northeastern regions as part of its strategy to be present in all areas which have migrant labourers.

The company started operations in 2009-10. At present, it facilitates money transfer of around Rs 40 crore daily. The group's customer base has been increasing by 2-3 lakh customers per month.

Ramsamy said the group began operations at a time many small shop owners and entrepreneurs were at the brink of closure because of increasing mobile and Internet connectivity. Subsequently, the group empowered them, providing tasks such as ticket booking and basic transactions such as domestic money transfer and bill payments.

On the application to set up a niche bank, he said, "A survey indicated that our existing customers expect certain basic additional services. We can provide additional banking and enhanced money transfer services if the RBI considers us worthy of a payment bank licence.''