STRATEGIC PARTNERS
December 5, 2002
CHENNAI, India -- The State Bank of India (SBI) is considering linking its ATM network to those of other Indian banks, according to a report in The Financial Times.
Network sharing is a becoming more of a trend in India, particularly with private banks such as UTI Bank. See related stories Indian banks take different approaches to ATMs and More Indian banks sharing ATM networks)
S. Krishnamurthy, chief general manager of the Chennai Local Head Office, said at a press conference that talks were "at the highest level" with other banks for offering SBI's network of nearly 1,500 ATMs to other banks.
In addition, Krishnamurthy said that the bank's newly launched MasterCard debit card, called SBI Cash Plus, will soon be able to be used in other countries. All the ATM cards issued by the SBI will automatically double as debit cards.
SBI is also in talks with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), for jointly issuing smart cards which could be used by the bank's customers not only at IOC stations, but also at other points of sale in India and abroad.
