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Private sector lender HDFC Bank, on Wednesday, launched comprehensive banking and payment solution for merchants.

Called SmartHub Merchant Solutions 3.0, it allows merchants and self-employed professionals to instantly open a current account and start accepting payments in-store, online, and on-the-go.

The comprehensive merchant solution will enable the bank to reach out to more than two crore small and medium merchants and also doctors, pharmacies, salons and laundry services across metro, semi-urban and rural India in the next three years.

“We embarked on this journey 18 months ago and have enhanced our offering, based on feedback from our merchant network. SmartHub 3.0 is a comprehensive digital platform solution that we believe will fulfil every need of a merchant or a professional service, be it in large metros or rural areas,” said Parag Rao, Country Head – Payments, Consumer Finance, Digital Banking and Marketing.

“It allows users to accept payments in multiple forms, including QR, and our newly launched tap-to-phone solution, allowing millions of merchants to offer a superior customer experience and grow the business,” said TR Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa.

Apart from instant instant account opening and merchant set-up, it also facilitates payment collection through any mode – Bharat QR code, Aadhaar Pay, UPI, SMS Pay, credit or debit cards, or any app such as Payzapp and Google Pay. Users can customise interface in nine languages, and merchants can also create their own customer loyalty programme on this solution.

It also has segment specific value-added services such as inventory management for grocery merchants, EMI for electronic merchants, billing, inventory, and reminders for pharmaceutical merchants.

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