Kotak Bharat is designed for customers with no internet connectivity. It works on the existing SMS banking keyword process platform, and is completely safe and secure. All customers holding bank accounts and/or credit cards, and using Android phones, including affordable handsets with version 2.2.3 onwards, can download the app on their registered mobile number without any separate registration process.

Shanti Ekambaram, President – Consumer Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “Mobile is undoubtedly the most powerful medium to reach out to India’s Kona Kona, including the unbanked and under-banked regions.”

“At Kotak Mahindra Bank, we follow a simple philosophy of providing digital innovations to meet consumer needs. Kotak Bharat is an extension of this philosophy, where a multi-lingual app-based solution can be accessed by customers for meeting their banking requirements without the internet,” Ekambaram added.

Customers can manage their bank accounts and also use the app for a range of services including recharging mobile and DTH services, linking Aadhaar number to the bank account, finding Kotak ATMs & branches, applying for Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (life insurance) / Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (accident insurance) schemes, etc.

Kotak Bharat can be accessed by customers through their registered mobile number only, and for Customer Relationship Numbers (CRNs) linked to this number. Since the app uses SMS to complete user’s transactions, standard SMS charges shall apply as per users’ mobile tariff plans.