The Hindu Business Line : `Payroll' card to draw salary from ATMs of SBI

When you see an auto driver, a sanitary worker, a courier boy, milk vendor or construction worker use a high-end mobile, you no longer raise your eyebrow. But when you see these people swipe a card in an ATM, would you dismiss it as `nothing unusual' or discuss this development with your friends and relatives?

`The trend is just catching up. You can see such people draw cash from the ATM in the early hours of the day, when you probably come out to buy paper from the stall opposite or take a morning walk. They use the card with ease,' a Karur Vysya Bank official told Business Line.

With banks targeting the un-banked (particularly in the rural pockets) under the financial inclusion project and the extension of the banking service to all sections of the populace, the proliferation of such services is no surprise.

But a number of those residing in urban and semi-urban areas, with no permanent job or residence voice their difficulty about opening an account with a bank.

Take for instance a construction worker or a courier delivery boy, a labourer in a mill (not permanent) or coolie. These people invariably do not have a permanent job and their wage-dues are settled on a weekly/fortnightly basis.

The employer, after calculating the sum to be dispersed, has it drawn from the bank, puts it in a cover and makes the payment. To minimise cash handling, State Bank of India has come up with a novel idea of the `payroll' card.

The employer, who incidentally is also a customer of SBI, prepares the wage-sheet (with staff details) and hands the soft-copy to the bank. The bank uploads the details and within minutes, the system enables the said employee to draw cash from any of the ATMs of SBI. The customer's account is automatically debited.

The customer (who is the employer in this case) has to bear the `upload charge,' which is said to be minimal.

SBI sources said the concept was well-received in Chennai. The bank is now trying to popularise the product in Coimbatore.

Though such people may not much value the banking convenience, the move has helped the bank, sources say, minimise cash handling.