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Our Bureau

Mumbai , March 14

SBI Card on Monday launched a credit card, SBI Social Card, in partnership with four organisations devoted to social causes.

This is the first affinity card in the country to feature four NGOs, said Mr Roopam Asthana, Chief Executive Officer, SBI Card.

The non-governmental organisations that have the tie-up with SBI Card are Cancer Patients Aid Association, National Association for the Blind, SOS Children's Villages of India and World Wildlife Fund, India.

The social card allows the cardholder to donate to the NGOs every time they use it. The card is free for the first year, after which the annual fee is Rs 750. SBI Card will donate 20 per cent of the annual fees or renewal fees to the NGOs. Moreover, customers also have the option to issue standing instructions for a fixed amount to be donated to any of the NGOs, Mr Asthana said.

The card will also earn the customers double reward points. While one half will go to the NGOs, customers also have the option to donate the second half as well.

Mr Asthana said, "We chose these four organisations because of the causes they support and because they have good track record."

SBI Card, which is a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Money, has a customer base of 1.6 million. The partners have set up two joint ventures, SBI Cards and Payment Services Private Ltd, which focuses on the marketing and distribution of SBI Card and GE Capital Business Processes Management Services Ltd, which handles the technology and processing needs of SBI Card. Now, SBI holds majority stake in the former, while GE Money holds majority in the latter.

Mr Asthana said that the two partners might realign the stakes in both companies to make the holding more equitable. This will avoid duplication of work, he said.

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