ING Vysya Bank India Pvt. Ltd. will issue a new Kisan Credit Card targeting Indian farmers that incorporates an ATM function, the Indian subsidiary of the Netherlands-based bank last week.
Indian farmers are eligible for the Kisan credit card, which lets them buy supplies such as fertilizer and pesticides at low interest rates. The National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development launched the card in 1998.
Only regional rural and cooperative banks previously issued the card. The Ministry of Finance this year expanded the scope and said that it would add an ATM function (
The new chip-based ING Vysya Kisan card is the first to link to the farmers’ credit account while also enabling them to secure loans from ATMs, a customer service representative for the bank tells PaymentsSource. The cardholder would have to enter his PIN to make a withdrawal.
Previously, Kisan credit cards were usable only with biometric readers carried by business correspondents. Cardholders swiped their magnetic-stripe card and then authenticated themselves using a fingerprint reader to access cash from their credit limit.
The bank plans roll out the smart card later this month and initially offer it only to customers in the northern parts of the country, he says.
“A farmer can apply for this card at any of the bank’s branches,” the representative says. “The farmer will be issued the card and a credit limit as per his eligibility criteria and past loan repayment history.”
Farmers are allowed to withdraw up to 25,000 rupees (US$488 or 373 euros) from any ATM, he says, noting the card does not support a debit function.
Farmers must repay their Kisan card loans within three years, and they may make any number of cash advances and purchases within a fixed limit based on the scale of their farm operations.
Kisan cardholders also may secure cash advances for farming-related purchases at a low interest rate. They must pay back cash advances within 12 months. The cards impose annual interest rates of less than 5%.
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