CHENNAI, India -- State Bank of India will upgrade all of its ATM cards to include a debit function by the middle of December, according to a report in the Times of India.
P N Venketachalam, State Bank's managing director and group executive, told reporters that the new cards were part of a major retail initiative to enhance customer convenience, and would be issued to all customers free of charge.
Veketachalam said that the bank also planned merchant aquisition initiative, whereby SBI would settle various debit card transactions directly in select retail establishments.
"We expect to launch this initiative by January next," he said.
More than 1,138 ATMs of SBI will soon be networked, he said, and another 1,000 will be added to the bank's network in the next year.
