Poor Women can Save
Poor women have a basic instinct for saving. They can and do save, if motivated and facilitated.

Poor do Repay Loans
Majority of the poor, particularly women, are economically active. They are involved in multiple economic activities, they have short period business cycles with high rates of return, and can and do repay loans, provided their repaying capacity is assessed properly.

Poor do Pay Market Rates of Interest
When poor borrow from informal financial sources, they pay much higher interest rates than the prevailing market rate in the country. They do and are ready to pay the market rate of interest.

SEWA Bank Handholder Nayanaben, collects savings and loan
repayments from Banksaathi, Laxmiben, in Panchkuya market daily.

Poor Need Suitable Delivery Mechanisms
What poor really need is suitable mechanisms for financial service delivery, like :

Door to Door Services:
Since majority of the work done by these women is labour intensive, the presence of the worker is required at her the place of business and she is unable to go to bank for depositing money otherwise she will lose her income for that period. Also, it will be very uneconomical for them to spend money on transportation, because of the small amount of their transactions. Hence, they need services at their doorsteps.

Simple Procedure:
Majority of the poor are illiterate and do not understand complicated procedures. They need simple procedures like short loan application forms.

Need For Assistance in Operations:
There is a need for extra assistance in filling up forms and guiding them to the right place.

Matching of Collection Schedule with Cash Flow:
Urban poor get small amounts frequently. Rural poor get lump sums in the agricultural seasons. Their cash-flow depend on the type of activity they are involved in Cash collection systems of the bank should be matched with the cashflow of its clients.

Continuous Contact is the Key for Success
Small transactions, vulnerable conditions and frequent problems are main features of poor people’s lives. There is a need for holding their hands throughout their life, continuous contact with them help organisations to understand them and help providers of financial services to get better results and design appropriate products and mechanisms.

Need For Information Sharing And Training
Poor, illiterate women do not have knowledge and information about various services, products and procedures of service providing institutes. They need to be informed and educated about all the services, products and procedures to be followed.

Need for Financial Counseling
Poor have neither learnt financial planning in their schools, nor seen their parents doing it. They are normally used to living on a day to day basis and lack the skills of planning for the future. But, when explained and taught about financial planning they respond very positively. There is a need for a financial counseling service, catered for them.

Need for Integrated Financial Services
Looking at the life cycle needs of the poor, they and financial counselling need four types of financial services: saving, credit Insurance. Savings services for the events which they can plan, Insurance Services for uncertainties credit for business needs and counselling for planning ahead.

Banking with the Poor can be Financially Viable
There is a large population unserved by the existing formal banking sector. This population is economically active, needs banking services and are ready to save, borrow, repay, contribute charges towards services and pay market rates of interest. Banking with this unserved population is a viable proposition.

People’s Ownership of the Organisation is Crucial
(Stake in the business)
When the poor own the organisation, they feel more responsible towards it. They are able to decide their own policies and procedures and share the profits and losses of the organisation. Ownership make them more responsible towards the organisation.

Regulated Financial Institutions vis-a-vis Unregulated Financial Institutions
Controls, regulations and inspections often help institutions to improve efficiency and procedures which ultimately leads to the growth of the organisation.

Need for Integrated Approach
The informal sector poor are very vulnerable, especially women. They need a suitable environment and integrated support to come out of vulnerability and poverty. Other support services like health care, child care, marketing support, capacity building, legal aid, policy interventions, and backward and forward linkages are required for achieving the overall objectives of poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor.

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