SBI to step up digital drive

Mumbai, April 14: The State Bank of India (SBI) has set a target of Rs 1 lakh crore digital transactions and 5.2 lakh touch points for such deals in 2017-18.

During the third quarter ended December 31, 2016, the SBI group had more than 59,000 ATMs. It had more than 21 crore debit card holders and over 3 lakh POS terminals. At the end of January this year, the number of State Bank POS terminals touched 4.31 lakh.

The share of digital transactions (including ATMs and cash deposit machines) have risen to 77 per cent during the third quarter compared with 73 per cent in the year-ago period. This has brought down the share of transactions at branches from over 27 per cent to 23 per cent.

The SBI recently merged five associate banks and the Bhartiya Mahila Bank with itself, thereby joining the league of global top 50 lenders.

In a statement issued today, the lender said it has implemented various initiatives as part of the Digital India and Digi Dhan Mela campaign launched by the government.

Under the schemes, the SBI adopted 110 villages to develop a digital eco system and set a target to deploy 25,000 terminals at 12,500 villages under a Nabard scheme.

"In 2017-18, the bank's ambition is to reach 5.2 lakh acceptance touch points, which include 4 lakh digital points of sale (Bharat QR and Aadhaar Pay) and will collectively receive Rs 1 lakh crore of transaction value," the SBI said.

Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said, "India is transforming into a digitally empowered society and the SBI is playing a pivotal role in the process."

Rajnish Kumar, managing director of the SBI, said UPI and Aadhaar Pay are two very innovative platforms that will lead to efficiency in costs and provide convenience to customers.

According to RBI data for the month of February, the SBI (excluding its associate banks) recorded 1.90 crore mobile banking transactions, while in value terms, this stood at Rs 40,471 crore.

State Bank of India