State Bank of India (SBI) in tie-up with MasterCard on Monday launched its first multi-currency international card to allow consumers to use a single card to pay in multiple currencies.
“To begin with, the prepaid card will enable customers to load four currencies – US dollar, euro, Great Britain pound and Singapore dollar. More currencies will be added going forward as the card has the facility to be loaded up to 12 currencies, S K Mishra, Deputy Managing Director, SBI, said.
Mishra added that outbound travel from India is growing with 35 million people travelling outside India. “This is expected to grow to 50 million in 2020. Consumers expect smart products to address their travel needs. The multi-currency foreign travel card gives an option to load currencies of choice at SBI’s branch network,” he said.
At present, the card can be issued at an annual fee of Rs 100 without any interchange fee to customers. Customers will have to pay the traditional ATM withdrawal charges of $1.75 in the US, €1.5 in Europe, £1.25 in Britain and S$2 in Singapore.
The card is aimed at corporates and professionals, tourists and students travelling abroad and will be available at 100 SBI branches in four major cities.
The chip and pin security card also has additional features of a call centre and complimentary emergency assistance and is backed by MasterCard’s network of nearly 36 million merchant establishments and 1.9 million ATMs globally.
Correction
SBI's new travel product is not a debit card. This copy has been modified to remove the word 'debit' in the headline and text.