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ank Sinar Harapan Bali, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s top lender Bank Mandiri, has embarked on a new journey that may lead low-income people to their first ever banking experience without going to branches, only to find regulatory obstacles in the way.

Bank Mandiri president director Zulkifli Zaini said the progress on the nation’s first branchless banking project was “quite slow” because the bank was not allowed to provide agents positioned near its customers to cash in and out for their banking transactions.

“There needs to be flexibility for agent banking” so that Bank Sinar Harapan Bali’s customers do not have to visit the bank’s branches to open accounts or do transactions, Zulkifli said after giving remarks at the first ever high level ASEAN Conference on Financial Inclusion last week.

The so-called “branchless banking” project of Bank Mandiri’s Bank Sinar Harapan Bali aims to enable customers to withdraw and transfer money through mobile phones, but there must be agents who stand by near where the customers live to pick up or deliver the money.

The project might double the number of people with bank accounts to 100 million people “in no time”, Zulkifli said previously.

Authorities throughout the world have recently been pushing for programs to boost financial inclusion so people could better manage their personal finances and improve the quality of their lives.

BI deputy governor Muliaman Hadad cited banking agent, mobile banking and electronic banking among the supporting regulation programs that the central bank is currently preparing to expand access into remote areas with information technology-based infrastructure.

The central bank is currently drafting guidelines for branchless banking.

Raul E. Hernandez-Coss, the deputy executive secretary of Mexico’s National Council of Financial Inclusion, cited an example in Mexico where people can open bank accounts using their mobile accounts through cell phones without further identification required.

“So [banks] identify you by the telephone number, which already has your basic identification. Why do we need to have a full record?” Hernandez-Coss said in the conference, referring to customers with a maximum of US$290 monthly deposits.

As the deposits go higher, more identification (occupation, economic activities, etc.) will be required to ensure KYC principles, he added.

“Banking agents allow for the expansion of these products and services to the lower income population. Banking agents are important because they can offer financial services on behalf of financial institutions,” said Carlos Lopez-Moctezuma, CNBV Mexico president’s chief of staff.

With banking agents, Mexico has more than doubled its points of access for its financial system, Lopez-Moctezuma said. For banks, branchless banking using banking agents and mobile banking has reduced costs and expanded their reach.

In India, the Reserve Bank of India has introduced a business correspondent model which allows banks to have doorstep services to cash in and cash out at locations near to rural areas. The central bank has identified an expanding list of eligible entities which are able to do so, from individuals to shop holders.

“The objective is availability of doorstep banking services to unbanked villages with populations of more than 2,000,” said Mary Kochuvaried, assistant general manager of the Reserve Bank of India, citing a deadline for the program of March 2012.

In Thailand, Bank of Thailand has also enhanced flexibility in business models for banks that intend to roll out programs for financial inclusion because commercial banks are viewed as pivotal in making it possible to provide financial access to the entire country.

“We basically said to the banks: ‘You come up with a business model that is suitable for this.’ We would not approve or disapprove, but we ask you to report’,” said Nawaporn Maharagkaga, said Bank of Thailand’s senior director for financial institutions strategy.