Paytm Teams With SBI To Deliver Contactless Visa Cards

India’s largest payments firm, Paytm, is partnering with SBI Card, the country’s biggest pure-play credit card issuer, to launch two variants of contactless cards on the Visa platform.

Bhavesh Gupta, chief executive officer of Paytm Lending, said in a statement on Thursday (Nov. 5), that by aligning with SBI Card, Paytm can “introduce India’s most sincere credit card with intelligent features,” including rewards that roll over and are always valid.

He added that the cards will assist users in developing “a healthier financial life” by using the Paytm app to analyze their spending. One of the main missions of the partnership is “democratizing access of credit cards amongst the masses,” per the release. Gupta believes the new products will “transform the credit market by bringing ‘new to credit’ users into the formal economy.”

People can apply for the card in under 60 seconds. Two cards will be offered — Paytm SBI Card and Paytm SBI Card SELECT — both with smart one-tap app features, rewards and other user perks. Users can block and unblock the cards instantly with one touch, get a duplicate card or disable it if lost.

Users around Diwali can apply for the card, and select customers can join the waiting list to get early access.

“The credit card industry in India remains largely underpenetrated. Also, given the current scenario where social distancing is a way of life and cashless payments are a safer alternative, there has been a renewed impetus to digital payments from all corners,” said Ashwini Kumar Tewari, managing director and CEO for SBI Card.

Tewari added that the company’s tie-up with Paytm aims to make “credit cards more accessible to all” by delivering the Paytm SBI Card “to a huge customer base.”

Cardholders get 5 percent cash back with the Paytm SBI Card SELECT and 3 percent with Paytm SBI Card when purchasing movie passes, travel tickets or merchandise from Paytm Mall. On other purchases made on the Paytm app, cardholders get 2 percent cash back. For purchases made anywhere else, the cash back rate is 1 percent.

T.R. Ramachandran, Visa’s group country manager, India and South Asia, said that SBI Card and Paytm are “two of our valued partners in India” and that this new partnership will bring digital payments to a “new generation of Indians.”

India is marking its fourth anniversary of demonetization — the process of discontinuing the circulation of currency — as the country’s economy transforms. In a September PYMNTS interview, Madhur Deora, president of Paytm, said the company is about 15 times bigger than it was in 2016 when demonetization began. He said that Paytm launched as a payments company, but now has its sights set on developing an end-to-end consumer ecosystem.