To reward consumers for their everyday spending, SBI Card and PhonePe have launched a co-branded credit card. There are two varieties of the PhonePe SBI Card: SELECT BLACK and PURPLE.
SELECT BLACK vs PURPLE: What’s the Difference?
When making purchases using the PhonePe app, customers who use the SELECT BLACK card can receive up to 10% back in reward points, while other online retailers offer up to 5% back. Both the VISA and RuPay networks are used by the recently introduced cards.
Payments at a variety of UPI merchants are possible by linking RuPay cards to UPI. Tokenisation is a feature that VISA cards provide for safe online transactions. Spending on groceries, bills, reservations for trips, electricity, insurance fees, and other expenses can earn points with these cards.
How the Card Benefits Users?
A membership fee of INR 1,500 for SELECT BLACK and INR 500 for PURPLE is returned as PhonePe e-gift certificates with both cards’ variations. They also provide milestone trip vouchers: PURPLE cardholders earn INR 3,000 for spending INR 3 lakh yearly, while SELECT BLACK users receive an INR 5,000 vacation voucher for spending INR 5 lakh annually.
For SELECT BLACK customers, additional benefits include Priority Pass membership and access to domestic lounges. Additionally, a 1% fuel cost waiver is offered. Through the PhonePe app, customers may apply for the card and handle bill payments directly.
Dual Network Advantage: RuPay + VISA
The RuPay version of the card enables smooth transactions across millions of retailers by integrating with UPI. Tokenising VISA cards, on the other hand, can guarantee safe online use. Users’ security and flexibility are improved by this dual-network functionality.
Salila Pande, MD and CEO of SBI Card, expressed hope that the collaboration would boost digital payments and credit card usage in India. “The tie-up will help boost credit card usage and digital payments in India,” Pande said.
Strategic Goals Behind the Partnership
The goal of this partnership, according to PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam, is to increase consumer access to formal credit. According to Nigam, the collaboration will facilitate the availability of formal loans. These cards will be made available via the PhonePe app in stages. By providing customers with more lucrative options for their regular expenses, this program supports initiatives to improve digital payment solutions in India.
Recent Developments at PhonePe
At a time when payment organisations are attempting to persuade the government to implement the Merchant Discount Rate on UPI transactions, PhonePe announced on July 15 that Shivnath Thukral, the former head of Meta India’s public policy division, would be joining the company as vice president for public policy and government affairs.
Zarin Daruwala, a seasoned veteran with more than thirty years of banking expertise, was named to the board of the fintech company in June after previously serving as CEO of Standard Chartered India and South Asia. In December 2022, PhonePe moved from Singapore to India with the goal of going public there. In its most recent private funding round, the corporation was valued at about $12 billion.
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