News

Digital kiosks lead to financial gains for India bank

July 14, 2014

State Bank of India has launched six self-service digital stores in Mantri Mall and other high-traffic areas across five cities, according to The Times of India. This comes two years after kiosks expanded rural banking in India.

The kiosks, named sbiTouch for their digital touchscreens, are designed to allow customers to obtain bank accounts, debit cards, loans and many other services.

"These digital stores will serve the tech-savvy customers being time saving instant service providers. The digital stores which will offer services like instant account opening with personalized debit cards, instant in-principle loan approvals for education, car and home, allowing ownership within 24 hours, pension planning, cash deposits and withdrawals, and remote expert advisors via video link," said SBI Deputy Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer R K Saraf in the Deccan Herald.

SBI experienced a 12-percent growth in deposits and an 11.55-percent growth in loans and advances for FY2013-14.

Delhi finance and defense minister Arun Jaitley, who launched the stores, said, "With innovative technology and user-friendly features at the digital stores, SBI has led the way in digital innovation in the Indian banking industry. SBI's initiative is a win-win for both customers and the bank."

According to the Deccan Herald, SBI also intends to open 5,000 new ATMs this fiscal year to improve the ratio of debit cards to ATMs and save money on ATM interchange fees.