The Reserve Bank of India has announced to issue a special Rs. 5 denomination coin. It is to mark the hundredth anniversary of civil aviation.

The coin will be circular in shape with a diameter of 23 mm. The coin will bear Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the center on one side. On the flip side, there will be an impression of an aircraft with figure ‘100' mentioned.

In a statement, the Reserve Bank of India...

Leading private sector lender ICICI Bank has launched two new platinum credit cards with a unique touch to them. The cards here would be two in number but linked to a single card account. Card holder will be issued single statements and single fees will be levied.

A customer will get two cards, one issued by the American Express and other by MasterCard. The card holder will be eligible to avail facilities offers by...

In a bid to expand its ATM network, well known public sector lender, Syndicate Bank is planning to deploy 200 ATMs in the country. The Executive Director of the bank, Mr. M. Anjaneya said that the new machines will have advanced features.

The new ATM machines, as he said will have features like biometric capabilities and touch-screen facilities.

At present the bank comprises of 1,100 ATMs across the country.

SBI Cards, the credit card segment of the largest public sector lender of the country, State Bank of India has decided to implement some new steps in terms of offering to customers so as to set new standards in the credit card industry.

As part of the new standards, 14 new payment options will be implemented to facilitate the customer.

"Multiple initiatives underline our commitment to keep delivering and surpassing the expectations of our discerning...

Foreign lender Standard Chartered Bank is set to gain hold of more than 50% of the credit card business of the Indian operations of Barclays.

According to sources having knowledge on the issue, StanC would be buying around 1,70,000 credit card accounts of Barclays out of its total base of 3,00,000.

The deal has been settled at a discount to the book value, informed sources.

So far, the two biggest competitors for buying Barclays'...

Cash acceptance facility in ATMs along with 24X7 surveillance facility are certain things which may come into practice soon following the recommendations of government-appointed committee on ATMs headed by Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Professor, IIT-Madras.

The committee recommends additional functions being added to ATMs with the biggest being the facility to accept cash too. Currency ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 1000 can be deposited in ATMs. The 21 banks in which goverment holds majority stake...

The largest lender of the country, State Bank of India aims to put as many as 40,000 ATMs all over the country in a bid to increase its presence all over India even further.

All public sector banks are aiming to work together for the installation of white labeled ATMs. White labeled ATMs are those which are not under the ownership of any particular bank but are managed and maintained by an external agency.

SBI owns...

Fund transfer facility has been started by the postal department of Karnataka in order to facilitate easy remittances from Indians staying abroad.

The facility has been started across 59 post offices in Karnataka following a tie up with global fund transfer service provider, MoneyGram International.

"Receiving money is simple. The person remitting the money with any of Moneygram International agent overseas will have to pass on the reference number to the receiver, who will get the money...

Non banking finance company, Muthoot Fincorp has joined hands with global fund transfer facility provider, MoneyGram.

The tie up has been routed through the UAE exchange.

As a result of this partnership, both entities can leverage on each other's strengths, that is the wide domestic network of Muthoot Fincorp and the worldwide presence of MoneyGram, said Mr Thomas John Muthoot, CMD, Muthoot Fincorp.

With this alliance, now remittance facility can be availed more convenirently by Indians everywhere.

Public sector lenders are gearing up to walk level headed along with their private peers in offering the most of technology driven benefits.

Gone are the days of conventional branch banking being the sole banking channel for customers. Now is the age of ATMs and other tech savvy modes of banking.

Treading in the league, the largest public sector lenders, State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have added quite a generous number of ATMs...

The largest lender of the country, State Bank of India has inked a deal with remittance provider, MoneyGram international whereby in-bound fund transfer services of the latter would be facilitated by the major branches of SBI.

Speaking on the tie up, MoneyGram International's executive vice president for the Americas and Emerging Markets, Dan O'Malley said, "Adding SBI to our agent network immensely increases consumers access to the company's services across India. The Bank's locations throughout...

The usage of debit cards with female employees has been found to be lesser with females, said a recent survey conducted by regulator, Reserve Bank of India.

According to RBI data, the outstanding figures for debit as well as credit cards amounted to 25 crore and 1.76 crore respectively as on end of September 2011.

Also, it has been found that women prefer getting their credit card swiped rather than debit card in order to avail...

Mobile banking in India is to take new heights with banks allowing fund transfer facility from ATMs to cell phones of the customer. Regulator Reserve Bank of India has given permission to National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in this regard.

Mobile banking is still in a very nascent stage in India. In order to bring a boost in this segment, which happens to be a promising one, RBI has agreed to expand the Interbank...

Nokia, one of the most widespread mobile handset providers has started offering mobile banking services through its handsets. In a tie up with Obopay, a leading payment service provider, mobile banking is set to go for further penetration in India.

Obopay already has tie ups with lenders like Union Bank of India and Yes Bank.

No bank account is needed in order to avail this facility. It can be set up only using a photo...

Private sector lender Karur Vysya Bank and SBI cards are likely to enter into a deal and launch co-branded credit cards for customers. The information was shared by CEO of SBI Cards, Mr Kadambi Narahari.

In a bid to increase its presence and market share, SBI Cards is inclined towards utilizing the co-branding channel.

The company has recently tied up with public sector lender, Oriental Bank of Commerce to bring out yet another co-branded...

Public sector lender Allahabad Bank has joined hands with global credit card provider, American Express Corporation in order to bring out credit cards to their customers.

The deal will lead to the bank's entry into the credit card segment.

Both entities would be able to benefit from each other in the process.

Public sector lender Allahabad Bank has joined hands with Aditya Birla Money, the part of the financial services wing of the Aditya Birla group wherein customers of the bank can avail the option of online investment in various financial products.

This facility will allow customers of the bank to trade online, said the bank in a release.

The bank currently has a customer base of 27 million which can thus be leveraged upon by Aditya Birla...

Private sector lender Development Credit Bank has come up with a new credit card which allows benefits of credit as well as returns of fixed deposit.

Its new offering, the DCB PayLess credit card is linked to a fixed deposit account thereby bringing dual benefits to the customer.

According to Mr Abhijit Bose, Group Senior Vice-President and Head - Retail, MSME Assets and Cards business, Development Credit Bank, "We are launching this card primarily for...

Private sector lender HDFC Bank is about to add another flavor to its super premium credit card segment. The lender has tied up with Diners Club International to promote Diners Club International credit cards.

According to Mr Rajive Chadha, President of Diners Club International, the new card class will...

HSBC India is aiming to revamp its retail operations in the country. The lender has been facing losses in the retail segment in India since three consecutive years now.

The bank aims to march ahead in the retail arena with the first aim being to reconstruct its credit card business in the country.

Through an assimilated as well as 'targeted, precise and data-oriented' approach including partnership with local players, the bank aims to grow its...