State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest bank and cards issuer has launched contactless debit and credit card on Thursday. The contactless card named sbi INTOUCH comes with a latest near-field technology (NFC) enabling users to make payments by waving or tapping the card near the contactless reader instead of swiping or dipping it.
Speaking at the launch, Arundhati Bhattacharya, SBI Chairman, “The ease of transacting and the speed of contactless payments will enhance the shopping experience and I am confident that this trend will continue to grow and expand across newer channels such as smartphones”.
The NFC technology makes the contactless cards very secure as the card never leaves the hands of the customer and also helps cut time taken for card transactions. The bank is also giving a fraud liability cover of Rs. 1 lakh on these cards.
“The bank has Rs 2.5 lakh Point of Sale terminals, out of which 1 lakh in the top eight metros will be upgraded so that they are NFC enabled. This upgrade will cost the bank under Rs. 2,500 for each machine,” Bhattacharya further added.
With the launch of contactless cards, SBI joins the ranks of private lenders such as ICICI and HDFC who also offer similar product to their customers.