February 10 2016, 12.04 AM IST || Pocket News Alert
Mumbai: YES BANK, India’s 5th largest private sector Bank has partnered with Smartbox Ecommerce Solutions Pvt. Ltd. to efficiently solve the last mile delivery challenges of E-commerce companies and making life easy for online shoppers. YES BANK will power the payment solutions for Smartbox network of Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals. The Cash on Delivery model continues to account for over 50% of the E-commerce market which is slated to reach a size of USD 100 Billion by 2020. YES BANK’s partnership with Smartbox will address this crucial challenge and help reduce costs for e-commerce companies while offering additional convenience to online shoppers. With this association COD will be handled as CSOD (card swipe on delivery) on the terminals – thereby reducing the burden of handling cash on the entire ecosystem.
Smartbox has already launched 12 terminals which have been installed at primary metro stations and business centers in the Delhi NCR region. This network is expected to be expanded to over 1,000 locations covering 8 major cities in India by the end of 2016.
Today’s busy online shoppers are either unavailable at home or busy at office which results in delayed delivery, delivery reattempts, or just unwanted courier coordination for an already short-on-time consumers. Now, these shoppers can choose a Smartbox terminal near their office or home as a delivery option at the time of check out while shopping at our partner eShops. When the parcel arrives, consumers will receive an OTP that can be used at Smartbox terminal to pick-up the parcels at a time convenient to them. YES BANK has ensured that best-in-class security systems are implemented to ensure ease and safety of transaction for consumers.
Speaking on the partnership Mr. Ritesh Pai, Senior President & Country Head, Digital Banking, YES BANK said, “In line with our Knowledge Banking approach, we have a strong emphasis on providing efficient financial solutions addressing the needs of retail customers as well as corporates in sectors like E-commerce. Our partnership with Smartbox is a win-win solution for both E-commerce companies as well as online shoppers. It helps E-commerce companies by helping them reduce high costs and bring in efficiencies in their logistics, while providing a convenient and secure option for online shoppers to get delivery of their products.
The Smartbox solution powered by YES BANK’s payments solutions uses cutting edge technology and smart physical infrastructure to store, track, notify and deliver. The cloud-based system is robust and scalable that integrates easily & quickly with e-commerce portals. Partner e-commerce companies will be able to further strengthen their associations with their consumers by offering new and innovative delivery options using Smartbox.
Smartbox is in advanced discussions and integration stage with various leading e-commerce companies in India to start offering this delivery option.
YES BANK has continued to deploy innovative solutions for multiple knowledge sectors including award winning API Banking services to integrate its systems with leading E-commerce logistics players. YES BANK has also launched ‘Bank in a Box’ at client locations handling large cash transactions to improve efficiencies in the financial value chain having already launched 255 boxes across Retail, Hospitals, Schools, Airlines and logistics clients. This will be expanded to 1000 within an year.
Bandhan Bank launches International Debit Card and NRI Banking
Kolkata: Bandhan Bank, one of the two newly set up banks in India, today announced that it will offer VISA International Debit Cards to its valued customers. The Bank is also starting services for the NRI customers with a bouquet of products.
Bandhan Bank’s International Debit Card is being offered in partnership with Visa International. The chip-based card is EMV compliant; it is secured and fully compliant with the latest regulatory directions from the Reserve Bank of India on card-based payments. This card, with enhanced security features, will provide added protection for card-based transactions against counterfeiting and skimming. It will be accepted globally at more than 30 million Visa merchants, either online or in- store, and allow card holders to withdraw cash at 2 million ATMs worldwide.
The customers will be offered two variants – Visa Classic and Visa Platinum. These cards are for both domestic and international usage and have features, including insurance, commercial discounts at select merchandise outlets, among others. Bandhan Bank’s customers will now enjoy the benefit from shopping, dining out, filling fuels, paying bills online, withdrawing cash from any bank ATM and unlimited free transactions at Bandhan Bank ATMs.
Visa Classic Debit card holders will enjoy daily cash withdrawal limit of Rs. 40,000 while Visa Platinum Debit Cardholders will have Rs. 1, 00,000 daily cash withdrawal. The POS transaction limits for these two card variants will be at Rs. 1, 00,000 and Rs. 4, 00,000, respectively.
Responding to the requirements of Non-Resident Indian (NRIs), Bandhan Bank will offer such services at selected branches. The NRIs can open NRE accounts either under Premium or Standard variants.
Speaking at the launch of the two premium products and service lines, Mr Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Founder, MD & CEO, Bandhan Bank, said “Bandhan Bank today enjoys the standing of a truly universal bank in terms of customer reach – from a small farmer of a remote village to the salaried executives in urban centres. Bandhan Bank is now ready to serve the vibrant and affluent Indian diaspora in sync with its core philosophy of ‘Aapka Bhala, Sabki Bhalai’.”
Bandhan Bank commenced its operations on August 23, 2015, with 501 branches, 2,022 Door step Service Centres (DSCs) and 50 ATMs across 24 Indian states. The Bank was inaugurated by Mr. Arun Jaitley, Hon’ble Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, in Kolkata at a grand function attended by regulators, policy makers and luminaries from the financial sector and corporate India. Bandhan is the first bank to be set up in eastern part of India, post-Independence.
Currently, it operates across 27 Indian states through a network of 612 branches and 203 ATMs, catering to over 8 million customers, being served by nearly 20,500 employees. Since its launch, the Bank has collected deposits to the tune of Rs. 7,000 crore.
The Kolkata-headquartered Bank has two divisions — micro banking and general banking, offering complete retail financial solutions, including a variety of savings and loan products. Currently, the savings bank account interest rate is 4.25% for balance up to Rs.1 lakh and 5% for balances above Rs.1 lakh. For term deposits, the maximum interest rate offered is 8.5 % for one to three years, with an additional 0.5% for senior citizens.
In sync with the philosophy of ‘Aapka Bhala, Sabki Bhalai’ and keeping financial inclusion at the heart of it, Bandhan is committed to provide a host of products and services, competitively on a par with India’s top private and state-owned banks.
