State Bank of India plans to issue 3 million biometric cards this year as it works to comply with an Indian government mandate to bring financial services to more unbanked consumers, an official from the alternate channels department at the Mumbai-based bank tells PaymentsSource.
According to the official, the bank has issued more than 3 million biometric cards in the country since 2006. Through the biometric function, cardholders authenticate themselves through fingerprint imaging.
The government wants to bring banking to rural communities under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, a social welfare initiative under which rural consumers are paid a minimum wage for doing government-commissioned work, the official says, requesting anonymity.
In addition, the government is using the cards to pay pension payments to the poor in remote regions, the official says. “We also want to increase the scope of services from just deposits and withdrawals to micro credit, micro insurance and utility payments,” he adds.
According to the official, the bank is in talks with select vendors, including Bartronics India Ltd., which has secured a five-year contract from banks associated with the state bank to provide biometric contactless smart cards.
