New Delhi: The government e-Marketplace (GeM), a public procurement portal, on Wednesday signed an MoU with Federal Bank to offer different services, including the transfer of funds.
The MoU will facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system on the portal, and would create an efficient procurement system for government entities, the commerce ministry said in a statement.
The bank will offer a number of services, including the transfer of funds through GeM pool accounts, advising of performance bank guarantees and earnest money deposit, to the registered users on the portal.
It said that GeM is also working with banks, and SIDBI to provide bill discounting and financing of working capital where the cost of capital is linked to the performance and rating of a seller.
"This will help the sellers in general and MSMEs, in particular, to access easy credit and do better business with the government," it said.
The commerce ministry launched the procurement portal GeM to increase transparency in public procurement of goods and services, which is estimated at about Rs 8 lakh crore per year.