SBI will now offer credit cards to farmers

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The State Bank of India, through subsidiaries SBI Cards and Payments Services Pvt Ltd, will begin offering credit cards to farmers from all over the country, as a part of a new project, declared a senior company official this Tuesday, quoted by Livemint.

This is part of a wider project, initiated in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Depending on how well this will be received, it could be launched all across the country. According to SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar, more than 100 applications for such credit cards have already been received and are expected to be reviewed.

But what advantages do farmers have?

It looks like the new credit cards will have a credit limit with a credit period of up to 45, which is completely different from the current rules of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC). Specifically, beneficiaries can maintain their loan accounts with both banks and lender offering them debit cards against this account.

Rajnish Kumar added that farmers will benefit from a significantly lower interest penalty, if they default on the 45 day credit period, unlike in case of a usual credit card. He also added that farmers who sign-up for this program can use their new cards to buy even non-agricultural goods.

“There will be some limits within that credit card,” he said, also mentioning that around 75-80% limit could be for buying agricultural inputs.

Recently, SBI’s Mr. Kumar was present in Kolkata, as he launched the mobile shopping app “FarmCart”, as well as the new delivery management app “Dealer bandhu”, a project of the Poorti Agri Services Pvt Ltd start-up, based in Mumbai and led by former chairman of Small Industries Development Bank of India, N Balasubramanian.

What’s up with this new platform?

Platform for Online Ordering & Rural Transformation of India – or Poorti – was launched this Tuesday, West Bengal being the first state when the program of the platform will start being applied.

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