India-based rural fintech company Spice Money has announced the launch of a dedicated assistance initiative to allow rural citizens to register for the COVID-19 vaccine through its dense network across 18,000+ Pincode.
The company has also initiated a special drive to spread awareness and educate its banking correspondent partners (Spice Money Adhikaris) about the priority vaccination available to them, as directed by the Department of Financial Service, Ministry of Finance.
“Spice Money Adhikari network covering 95% of India’s rural pin codes will facilitate people to register and book an appointment for vaccination, while at the same time dispelling vaccine-related myths that may exist in smaller communities,” the statement said.
Speaking on the development, Sanjeev Kumar, CEO of Spice Money said, “The banking correspondents have played a critical role since the beginning of the pandemic to provide essential financial and banking services to India’s masses. They are the unrecognized COVID warriors who are taking immense risks to offer last-mile financial service delivery. The Spice Money Adhikaris form the backbone of India’s financial inclusion efforts and we must ensure their safety at each step.”
“We are offering our assistance in the process to avail the covid-19 jabs as part of DFS’ initiative to vaccinate BFSI employees on priority. We are also mobilizing our SMAs to help rural communities in their areas with self-registration for the vaccines. Through this initiative, we want to play our part to support the vaccination drive in rural India,” Kumar added.
“The registration for COVID-19 vaccines will be available on Spice Mobile app and its portal. The Digital Dukaans will be operated by the Spice Money Adhikaris who will act as registration help centers for their communities. These Spice Money Adhikaris will offer end-to-end assisted registration services to their customers and ensure the rural citizens get vaccinated,” Spice Money said.
“To facilitate vaccination of Spice Money Adhikaris on priority, the company has created a digital folder with all necessary documents that they need to carry to the vaccination center, including their Spice Money ID card, government ID proof, DSF letter, and a copy of their self-registration slip, among others,” the statement said.
“Further, to facilitate rural customers to register for vaccination, Spice Money has integrated Covid registration on their app and portal itself to find out available Spice Money Adhikaris near to them,” it added.