ICICI Bank Ltd. has become the first bank in India to offer its debit cardholders the ability withdraw cash from their accounts in excess of the purchase amount at the point of sale, an official from the Mumbai-based bank confirms to PaymentsSource.
The bank in mid-January quietly launched the service, which now is available at all merchants that deploy the 150,000 POS terminals processed through ICICI Merchant Services Pvt. Ltd., according to the official. ICICI Merchant Services formed after ICICI Bank sold a majority stake in its POS business to U.S.-based First Data Corp.
Through the cash-back service, only ICICI debit cardholders may withdraw up to 1,000 rupees (US$22 or 16 Euros) at the terminals because of Reserve Bank of India requirements, the official says. ICICI will deduct a 10-rupee fee per cash-back transaction from the cardholder’s account.
Last year, the central bank had announced that it would allow cash-back services at the point of sale in India to increase consumer cash access. Indian merchants deploy some 500,000 POS terminals, while banks in the country deploy about 75,000 ATMs.
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