Paytm engages EY, McKinsey to hire 3,000 people

EFT Report, Bengaluru: Electronic payments and commerce company Paytm is looking to hire 3,000 people to roll out its payments bank services by the first quarter of next fiscal. The Alibababacked firm has got on board Ernst & Young and McKinsey to help in the hiring process, an executive from the company said.

Paytm has over 104 million wallet users at present and plans to add another 50 million by the end of March. According to sources, the structure of the executive committee for the payments bank is being given shape while Paytm awaits a final nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Paytm's hiring plans come at a time when a few tech startups have streamlined their businesses by laying off employees. While a payments bank is a completely new business for Paytm, it is also simultaneously looking to add another 400 people to its existing employee base of about 4,400.  

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Kotak bank launches offline mobile banking app

EFT Report, Bengaluru: Kotak Mahindra Bank on Tuesday launched an internet-free, data-free, offline and regional language powered mobile banking app, which it said was India's first, to serve under-banked and unbanked regions of India.

"Kotak Bharat App works without internet or the requirement of data in a smart phone to make transactions. We are introducing a funds transfer limit of Rs.2,500 per day for now and will increase it in the future," said the private sector bank's digital initiatives head Deepak Sharma.

The SMS powered Android app needs smartphones running at least Android version 2.2.3 and above to transact.

"English along with regional languages Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada are the currently available language which will be expanded in the future," added Sharma.

Along with funds transfer, other key features include operating savings and current accounts, credit card, mobile phone recharge, DTH services and the ability to apply for government scheme Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bhima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bhima Yojana, he said.

Sharma also highlighted that the bank is the first in India to launch an offline mobile banking app.

Noting the substantially rising mobile banking use, he said: "In September, Kotak bank clocked Rs.1,700 crore in mobile banking transactions. In the last one year, we grew by 300 percent and 30 percent of our customer base uses mobile banking."

The bank has 1,261 branches and 1,939 ATMs at 641 locations.

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RBI cuts repo rate by 50 basis points

EFT Report, Mumbai: Springing a surprise, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday cut its short-term lending rate by 50 basis points, but also made a pitch for it to be passed on to end-consumers in the form of cheaper personal and commercial credit.

While the repurchase rate, or the interest charged on short-term borrowings, stands cut to 6.75 percent, it will take commercial banks to lower their own lending rates for personal, automobile, housing and commercial loans to also get reduced, translating into lower EMIs.

The indexed reverse repo rate, or the interest payable by the central bank on short-term deposit, automatically stood reduced to 5.75 percent. There was no cut in the 4 percent cash reserve ratio that banks have to maintain in the form of liquid assets and designated government securities.

"Markets have transmitted Reserve BankÂ’s past policy actions via commercial paper and corporate bonds, but banks have done so only to a limited extent," Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan said in the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy statement for the current fiscal year.

"Median base lending rates of banks have fallen by only about 30 basis points, despite extremely easy liquidity conditions," the governor said.

"This is a fraction of the 75 basis points of the policy rate reduction during January-June, even after a passage of eight months since the first rate action by the Reserve Bank. Bank deposit rates have, however, been reduced significantly, suggesting that further transmission is possible."

There was pressure this time on the central bank to cut rates from all stakeholders, including a veiled nudge from government functionaries, especially since India's growth has been floundering and inflation and the pressure on the price line has been seemingly under control and declining.

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'Pretty Mom' Credit Card Launched by a Chinese Bank

EFT Report: The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) issued a new type of credit card targeting China's young mothers, a growing group known for their love of shopping and their greater say in the family budget.

The cards focus on the needs of new mothers with children up to the age of six by offering discounts on major baby product brands and early education institutions.

Liu Guiping, business director of ABC, said the bank is counting on female clients in cities toupgrade the bank's credit card services. The new services will focus on consumerexperience, Liu added.

ABC is not the first bank to show interest in China's female consumers. The country'sleading banks, including China CITIC Bank and China Everbright Bank, have alreadyoffered cards geared toward women.

Along with traditional financial services, the cards offer discounts or incentives for purchases related to "female industries," such as health, salons, cosmetics, clothing and accessories.

The banks have targeted Chinese women not only for their personal consumption but alsodue to their growing role in managing family assets.

A survey conducted by HSBC showed that 63 percent of female interviewees from themainland acted as decision makers on money matters, higher than the figure for maleinterviewees.

In traditional Chinese families, couples once set up combined accounts, instead of managingfinances individually, and men controlled most major affairs, ranging from money to bigdecisions. But the situation has started to change due to the higher education and economicposition of modern women.

CITIC's vice president Sun Deshun said its "Lady Card" was consistent with the socialtrend of women becoming heads of households and "bosses" of family wealth management.The bank has even established a new strategic brand targeting women as "the actualcontrollers of family assets," according to Sun.

Analysts believe female-oriented services will help integrate multiple financial products,including consumption, lending, mobile banking, insurance and investment management toboost financial innovation.

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New York to Host 'Advanced Accounting for Income Taxes' Seminar

Event title	Advanced Accounting for Income Taxes
Date	May 15–16
Location	New York
Type	KPMG Learning event
Audience	Corporate accountants and financial executives
Description	This seminar is designed for individuals who are knowledgeable in the basic requirements for accounting and financial disclosures pertaining to income taxes, looking to master more challenging scenarios.
Highlights	http://www.execed.kpmg.com/content/courses/Advanced-Accounting-Income-Taxes.aspx

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KPMG Thomson Reuters Indirect Tax Share Forum

Event title	KPMG Thomson Reuters Indirect Tax Share Forum
Date	April 23
Location	Los Angeles
Type	KPMG share forum
Audience	F500s doing business globally. tax, finance, and IT leadership roles
Description	Is your company among the 93 percent of corporations in some phase of changing their business model? Do you need to know how current trends in indirect tax may impact your business, what some of the options are to better manage tax complexity, and how others are addressing it? If so, our global indirect tax forum is designed to help you identify solutions specific to your business. Please join professionals from KPMG LLP (KPMG), Thomson Reuters, and your peers in other companies to: Explore new ways to improve transaction tax processes Keep pace with regulatory change At the end of the event, you should have an overall understanding of how technology can improve your transaction tax process.
Highlights	https://www.seeuthere.com/rsvp/invitation/registration.asp?id=/m2c742-16DFPBB4XVECK

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San Francisco to Host Coupa Inspire 2014 From April 15–17

Event title	Coupa Inspire 2014
Date	April 15–17
Location	San Francisco
Type	Third party conference
Audience	Chief Procurement Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer
Description	KPMG’s Procurement Advisory practice delivers practical fit-for purpose designs across the procurement lifecycle, from category management to process and technology enablement. KPMG’s Procurement Advisory practice and Coupa, a provider of cloud-based spend optimization tools, have developed a strategic-alliance relationship to provide clients leading services associated with the process design and implementation of a cloud-based P2P application. Coupa is hosting a three-day event featuring leading practices panels on ERP integration, building a business case, and several sector-specific sessions, as well as opportunities to learn about Coupa’s solution.
Highlights	http://coupainspire.com/

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