SBI seeks fintech partners to help customers print their own debit cards

The bank is looking to partner with fintechs who can provide services for these kiosks, allowing customers to upload photos or select from design templates, according to a document seen by Mint. “Customers should also be able to set their PIN and manage basic card controls directly at the kiosk,” said the document, calling fintechs to apply. It could not be immediately ascertained how these proposed kiosks would work.

The bank’s kiosks currently offer different services. As on 31 March 2024, SBI had 20,135 barcode-based passbook printing kiosks at 17,663 branches, processing over 1 million daily transactions. It also had 2,496 cheque-deposit kiosks in FY24, according to its annual report.

Also read | Mint Primer: How to read SBI’s latest poverty estimates

SBI also wants fintechs to develop a progressive web app (PWA) through which customers can manage their debit cards. PWAs are web-based applications that offer user experience of an app. Solutions on the kiosk and the web app are what the bank has classified as ‘desired’ under the proposed partnership. Some other aspects are also ‘mandatory’ under the potential alliance.

Queries emailed to SBI seeking comments remained unanswered.

Taking a different route

SBI’s seems to be charting a different course since most other banks are looking at tie-ups with fintechs to push lending, said experts.

“A partnership on debit cards shows that State Bank of India (SBI) is pivoting to a new trend where it sees cards as a means of improving customer experience,” said Vivek Iyer, partner at Grant Thornton Bharat.

According to Iyer, newer customer cohorts may not be happy with how the plastic currency looks and allowing people to choose what they want would aid personalization.

“SBI is now saying that we will give you something personalised, and fintech partnerships will make it quicker,” he said. “Also, banks are now realizing that overdependence on any particular channel of service could be detrimental during periods of downtime.”

Read this | Are you an SBI customer? Here’s how new chairman C.S. Setty plans to improve your banking experience

An outage in India’s ubiquitous fast payments platform UPI (unified payments interface) meant that scores of transactions were declined last week. In February alone, UPI processed 16.1 billion transactions worth ₹21.9 trillion.

Meanwhile, SBI also wants fintechs to develop solutions that would offer customers a dedicated dashboard to manage, track, and control subscription-based services such as Netflix, Spotify, and utilities linked to their debit cards. The dashboard should also integrate artificial intelligence-based alerts for identifying underutilized subscriptions and suggesting alternatives based on usage behaviour.

Fintechs bring agility 

Experts said since banks come with legacy systems and find it hard to move quickly, partnering with fintechs helps find innovative solutions for customers.

“For fintechs, it helps that they work with institutions which have deep pockets and a ready pool of users to test their products,” said Neha Mehta, founder and chief executive officer at Singapore-based fintech consulting firm FemTech Partners.

Mehta said that in Singapore, every bank has an innovation lab, allowing startups to work with them. It is kind of a sandbox where fintechs can test new ideas with a small customer base, she said, adding that banks are able to handhold and see what problems these startups are solving.

And read | SBI Card: Competition from personal loans a drag on interest spreads

SBI in November launched the State Bank of India Innovation Hub in partnership with APIX, a Singapore-based leading global collaborative innovation platform for financial institutions and fintechs, PTI reported. The idea, the report said, was to provide “dedicated space for fintechs, startups, and innovators worldwide to design next-generation financial solutions tailored to meet the digital needs of SBI’s diverse customer base.”