PNB Strengthens Financial Inclusion With 34 New Products On Its 131st Anniversary

The nation's 3rd largest public sector bank by market cap, Punjab National Bank (PNB), commemorated its 131st Foundation Day on April 12 at its headquarters in Dwarka, New Delhi. Prominent dignitaries, bank executives, employees, and customers attended the event, which demonstrated the bank's unwavering commitment to innovation, financial inclusion, and digital transformation.

34 new banking products and services, including 10 digital transformation products and 12 customer-centric deposit schemes, were introduced during the PNB's 131st Foundation Day. Schemes for salaried professionals, women, defence personnel, farmers, non-resident Indians, senior citizens, pensioners, students, and youngsters are among the deposit products that have been introduced. Customized account numbers, life and personal accident insurance, healthcare benefits, and enhanced debit card functionality are some of the main characteristics offered by these plans. The PNB Women Power Scheme (Pearl, Emerald, Solitaire), PNB Salary Savings Account (Neo, Excel, Optima, Imperial), PNB Kisan Saving Fund (Harit, Samriddhi), PNB Rakshak Plus (for police and defence personnel), and PNB Samman Account (for senior citizens and pensioners) are a few of the flagship products.

In order to improve customer service, the bank has also included new internal banking features, a live chat assistant called "Pihu," and a customer feedback system based on QR codes. Ten new tech-driven services were also introduced by PNB as part of its digital vision. These included improvements to the PNB One Biz app, digital lending facilities against deposits, single-window DEMAT and trading account onboarding, and fixed deposit bookings via WhatsApp. Self-onboarding for PPF and savings accounts, Digi MSME loans up to Rs 25 lakh, GST Express loans for new bank clients up to Rs 1 crore, and loans for rooftop solar systems are some of the other significant digital efforts announced by PNB on Saturday.

Shri Ashok Chandra, MD & CEO, PNB, stated: "PNB has been a cornerstone in India's development, offering credit across every sector and ensuring financial inclusion throughout the nation. Our initiatives have supported the underprivileged, empowered citizens, educated the youth, increased farmers' income, and fostered entrepreneurship-all aligned with the vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. As a customer-first bank, we are continuously refining our grievance redressal system, improving call center operations, and leveraging QR codes for effective customer feedback to enhance service quality."

The Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Shri M. Nagaraju, praised PNB for its cutting-edge product offerings and highlighted the bank's important role in improving customer satisfaction and expanding financial inclusion. He particularly valued the bank's proactive efforts to raise public awareness of cyber issues, which reaffirmed its dedication to trustworthy and accountable banking.

In keeping with its goals for social responsibility, PNB also announced new CSR partnerships in collaboration with PNB PRERNA, an organization made up of senior women bank officials and their spouses whose main objective is to support and advance the bank's CSR initiatives. The bank collaborated with the Water for People India Trust to assist its "Harvest for Resilience" initiative and with the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) foundation to improve the literacy and general well-being of Bhubaneshwar's underprivileged native students. Additionally, PNB gave Delhi's government schools infrastructural donations on its 131st Foundation Day.

Meanwhile, FD interest rates on certain tenures for balances under Rs 3 crore have been reduced by Punjab National Bank (PNB). Following the modification, Punjab National Bank now provides fixed deposit interest rates ranging from 3.50% to 7.10% for terms spanning from seven days to ten years. On a 390-day term, the highest interest rate of 7.10% is available. The bank previously offered the highest interest rate of 7.25% on 400-day FD tenures. According to the bank's official website, PNB's updated FD rates go into effect on April 10, 2025.