Page 23 - Banking Finance August 2019

PRESS RELEASE

HDFC Bank to offer banking services to small traders through

MoU with CSC, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT)
HDFC Bank signed an MoU with CSC eGovernance Services India Limited and Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) to
offer a full range of banking products and services to all CAIT members. CAIT is a leading advocate for small traders and
businesses in India, with around 6 crore members. This first-of-its kind grassroots initiative will transform rural economy
and benefit small merchants and traders even in remote places.

HDFC Bank will offer services including opening of a current account, and issuance of Bharat QR code to promote
digitalization and reduce cash transactions in line with the objectives of Digital India. The bank will also offer the recently
launched Small Business Moneyback Credit Card to provide easy access to small business finance to CAIT members.
The MoU was signed by Ms. Smita Bhagat, Head – Government & Institutional Business and e-Commerce, HDFC Bank,
Mr. Dinesh Kumar Tyagi, CEO, CSC and Mr. Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General, Confederation of All India
Traders (CAIT) in Jaipur. Speaking on this partnership, Ms. Bhagat said “We are proud to partner in this initiative that will
make a big difference in the lives of small traders and merchants. Entrepreneurs are the backbone of the economy and
this MoU will ensure that they have easy access to the business finance and banking products that they need to prosper.
It also ties in well with our ongoing social programmes which straddle financial literacy, financial inclusion and income-
generating skilling at the bottom of the pyramid.”
HDFC Bank has also joined hands with the CSC SPV to take banking and financial services to the doorsteps of people living
in remote areas of the country through its network of over 1 lakh VLEs. The VLEs will be supported by HDFC Bank’s
branch distribution network which is present in more than 30 states. The arrangement envisages making banking services
available to lakhs of people in rural India who do not have access to formal banking. CSC SPV is a Special Purpose Vehicle
(SPV) created by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) under the aegis of the government’s Digital
India programme. They are envisaged as assisted front-end ICT– enabled centres for delivery of various Government to
Citizen (G2C) and other Business to Citizen (B2C) services. These are managed and operated by local skilled entrepreneurs
i.e village level entreprenuers (VLE).

Flipkart, Axis Bank Launch Co-Branded Credit Card powered by

Mastercard

E-commerce marketplace Flipkart and Axis Bank have partnered to launch an exclusive co-branded credit card, powered
by Mastercard. The credit card offers customers best-in-class benefits and unlimited cashback on all spends, online and
offline. This partnership is the latest effort from Flipkart, Axis Bank, and Mastercard to improve access to credit and
further expand the fast developing credit card ecosystem in India.
The credit card ecosystem in India is growing at a fast pace and holds immense promise with regards to penetration and
acceptance. While most Indians have accessed some form of informal credit, there are only an estimated 49 million
credit cards in circulation. Estimates from CIBIL suggest that while there are some 220 million credit-worthy Indians, a
full one third of them have not yet been tapped by formal financial institutions. Further, only 72 million of this base are
considered ‘credit active’, having a live account with a bank or lending body.
The Flipkart-Axis Bank Credit Card is designed to cater to both credit-worthy Indians, as well as sections of the population
who have not accessed formal credit before, through Axis Bank & Flipkart’s extensive pan-India network and distribution
reach, and Mastercard’s market leadership in co-brand card programs and payment technology.

The card was available for select users in July, with plans to open the program to all customers over the coming weeks.
Customers can also experience a seamless journey with this proposition, from instant card issuance to transaction
completion.

BANKING FINANCE | AUGUST | 2019 | 23