SBI launches prepaid card for blue-collar workers

The minimum amount that can be loaded on the card is Rs 100 and maximum is Rs 10,000

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The State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a prepaid card — State Bank Smart Payout Card — targeted at contract labourers or blue-collar workers who do not have a bank account.

The card is also suitable for employees of small and medium enterprises whose monthly salary is not more than Rs 10,000.

The minimum amount that can be loaded on the card at a time is Rs 100 and the maximum, Rs 10,000. The limit for a single transaction is Rs 10,000, and it has a monthly limit of Rs 25,000, the bank said. The card,  to be available at all SBI branches, can be used for cash withdrawal at any ATM of SBI and its associate banks free and at other banks’ ATMs for a nominal fee. It can also be used at point-of-sales (POS) terminals at merchant establishments and on websites accepting Visa cards for e-commerce transactions. It can also be used as an add-on card for existing account holders on the Visa network.

SBI already has 75,000 POS terminals and plans to double this number in a year.

There is no minimum balance requirement and there will be no interest payment on the amount loaded into the card.

Being a prepaid card, it can be issued to someone who does not have a regular bank account, provided there is valid photo proof, identity proof and introduction by a know-your-customer (KYC)-compliant person.

R K Saraf, deputy managing director (corporate strategy and new business) at SBI, said liberalised KYC norms as approved by the Reserve Bank of India would be applicable for beneficiaries. “Special permission has been given to us for this,” he added.

Only one card will be issued per person. However, against a fully KYC-compliant account, a maximum of three cards can be issued. This does not include a current account.

For companies, one card per employee can be issued. The card issuance charge is Rs 102 and the reloading charge is Rs 10. However, there will be no charge if reloaded through corporate internet banking, the SBI said. Bosch is the first company to get the card.

SBI is talks with several other corporates to issue the card, said Saraf.

He added that the launch of the card was SBI’s contribution to have lesser cash in the economy. In terms of their other offerings, he said that the SBI group had issued two million debit cards every month, with SBI contributing 1.5-1.6 million.

According to Saraf, the total debit card holders of SBI group stand at 136 million, with 110 million belonging to SBI.