SBI may tie up with HP over smart cards

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Kolkata, Jun 25: State Bank of India is looking at entering into a partnership with top PC maker Hewlett-Packard (HP) Co for biometric solutions for smart cards. According to sources, the tie up will primarily provide software support for the cards to be launched soon in the Bengal circle.

Jayanta K Sinha, chief general manager of SBI’s Bengal circle, said: “We are talking to Hewlett Packard for biometric and other solutions.”

The fingerprint reader will need software solutions that enable account holders to authenticate their identities and access accounts. “This is a complicated procedure, so we need solutions from companies like HP,” an SBI official said. SBI has already tied up with A Little World, a provider of mobile platforms for smart card projects. “It is difficult for them to provide a complete technical solution for the project,” Sinha said.

The smart card, modelled on the ATM card, can be used to access accounts even from remote areas. While SBI account holders will be given smart cards, which will be used as identity cards for all transactions, business correspondents will get hand-held gadgets for the same.

According to a senior government official, the recent decision of the government to route all future National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) wage payments will translate into more new accounts. This will encourage the banks to go for projects like smart cards. An SBI account holder will be able to transact up to Rs 10,000 a day and avail him/herself of a loan of up to Rs 5,000. The gadget fitted with a biometric facility will link all transactions directly to the branches.