State Bank of India would prefer to eliminate debit cards by promoting more digital payment solutions. The bank’s chairman Rajnish Kumar said at the annual FIBAC Conference that it is the bank’s wish to eliminate debit cards and he is sure the bank can do it. The bank at present has a huge number of debit cards in use by its customers. Rajnish Kumar said there are around 90 crore debit cards in India as against 3 crore credit cards. But the country can achieve a debit cardless banking system through the use of digital solutions like the State Bank of India’s Yono platform, he told the conference. Using the Yono platform, one can withdraw cash at ATMs or pay for purchases at a merchant establishment without having a card at all. The bank already has some 68,000 ‘Yono cashpoints’ and is in the process of scaling it up massively to over 1 million in the next 18 months, Rajnish Kumar said. The Yono platform can also give credit for buying certain merchandise, making the credit card in the pocket also as a ‘stand-by’.
