Mumbai: Indian Government’s largest lender SBI is planning to eliminate debit cards from the banking system and instead promote more digital payment solutions like it’s own ‘Yono’ platforms.
“…it is our wish to eliminate the debit cards, and am sure we can eliminate them,” said the chairman Rajnish Kumar speaking at the annual Fibac here Monday, livemint reports .
Despite SBI’s 90 crore customer debit cards, the bank wishes to eliminate the debt cards completely from the its banking system pointing at its own Yono platform to achieve a debit-card less country.
According to Kumar, one can withdraw cash at the automated teller machines without a card through the Yono platform.
He added taking a step towards making the country card-less, the bank has already set up 68,000 ‘Yono cashpoints’. The bank is set to reach to over 1 million in the next 18 months which shall make reduce the card necessity.
The Yono platform can also give credit for buying certain merchandise, making the credit card in the pocket also as a “stand-by”, Kumar said.
In a move to make it completely digital, in the upcoming next five years, plastics card usage will be immensely reduced and virtual coupons will be the next future.
He said at present, the QR code is also a very inexpensive way of ensuring payments.