Axis Bank, Raipur Smart City launch payment platform

Private sector lender Axis Bank and Raipur Smart City Thursday launched a payment platform, targeting to have 10,000 people by March-end pay digitally for low-ticket transactions in the capital of Chhattisgarh.

The platform entails having a smart card, a mobile app and a web portal, which can be used for payments and is primarily targeted at the overall seven lakh users of the civic body bus transport.

Using a single card or the app, citizens will be able to pay for their bus travel, shopping at merchants, property bills and also e-commerce.

"We will be concentrating on putting up point of sale terminals across the 20,000 merchant establishments in the city and are targeting to have 10,000 users by end of March," Raipur Municipal Corporation commissioner Rajat Bansal said.

He said the Raipur Smart City has been able to save Rs 13 crore budgeted for launch of the platform through the tie-up with Axis Bank.

The lender has done all the necessary capital expenditure upfront including developing the system, the app and web portal, and also installing acceptance infrastructure in lieu of getting the civic body's accounts, he said.

The bank's executive vice-president for transaction banking, Debarchan Mishra, declined to comment on the investments done by the bank in the five-year project.

Mishra said Raipur has a population of nearly 17 lakh and the bank has tied up with various merchants to offer discounts, in order to incentivise usage by the citizens.

Initially, users - not necessary to be an Axis Bank account holders - will be able to load up to Rs 7,500 into their cards, which will be raised to Rs 10,000.

The bank has 11 branches in the city and plans to have over 100 outlets where the card balance can be refilled, said Mishra.