Branchless Banking: Bringing digital financial services directly to farmers’ doorsteps

Branchless Banking (BLB) brings financial services to hard-to-reach customers through mobile agents who operate from existing businesses. Despite some success, BLB has struggled to reach farmers and the agriculture sector. The Feed the Future Knowledge-based Integrated Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal (KISAN) II Project stepped in to help banks fill this gap. Through a no-cost partnership with Laxmi Bank, KISAN II is helping them expand BLB to directly serve farming communities through the project’s extensive network of 57 agrovets in 25 districts. Agrovets bring an existing farmer customer base, as well as the necessary expertise to oversee agricultural loans.