State Bank of India has entered into tie-ups with IRCTC and Madura F&L to enable payments through SBI’s Buddy Pay wallet. With the tie-up with IRCTC, train ticket bookings can be done on Buddy mobile wallet. The bank is looking to expand the reach of Buddy to state-run transport corporations and cab / auto operators in India. SBI’s tie-up with Madura F&L will allow the customers of Madura F&L’s prominent brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England across its more than 1200 stores in the country to pay through the wallet. SBI said the service is going to be scaled soon to leading retail brands through their billing systems and the strong network of more than 3,45,000 PoS devices of the bank.
The bank also launched Buddy as a payment option at 2500+ institutions through State Bank Multiple Option Payment System. The bank plans to rapidly grow these numbers while deeply integrating with them to provide a true cashless experience. SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said that convenience is the norm of the game and the more convenience means the more one can do at fingertips. She said SBI will ensure that with Buddy and other digital innovations, the bank would cater to the needs of every single Indian. SBI is working to launch another version of Buddy Pay that would not need a smartphone to operate but Java enabled ones. The bank is also working on another wallet that will work on feature phones. This will be launched collaborating with BSNL, she said.
