SBI, Manipal University launch Combo Card

Mumbai, Feb 20 (UNI) State Bank of India and Manipal University have launched a Combo Card for students of the university.

The card is the first-of-its-kind all-in-one product incorporating features of an ATM-cum-debit card, a student identity card, an access card, a library card and a card for payment of all kinds of fees and medicare. The card, which will be issued free of cost to the students, can also be used in food courts across Manipal, said an SBI release here today.

The Combo Cards will be issued by SBI, and personalised by GE.

Manipal University has engaged the services of Honeywell India to customise the personal data of the students to provide access control.

The Combo Card will have the SBI, Manipal University and Master Card Logo. The card has a magnetic strip for financial transactions and a 4K memory chip for storing student data. Validity of the card is for an unlimited period.

State Bank of India chairman O P Bhatt, while launching the card, said, ''We have leveraged technology effectively to develop a revolutionary product. The SBI has deployed seven ATMs and five POS terminals on the university campus to enable the students to make various payments. We shall consider rolling out this unique Combo Card to other premier institutes in due course.'' Manipal University president and chancellor Dr Ramdas Pai, while speaking on the occasion, said, ''Our association with State Bank of India has developed and deepened in the last two years.'' As the largest and most tech savvy bank in the country, SBI could promptly respond to our requirement for a complex product such as this, he added.

The SBI has already opened 14000 SB accounts covering the Manipal University. All the remittances from abroad are routed through SBI.

The bank is also examining options like extending vendor financing and loan facilities to 5000 employees of the university.

The bank would provide Internet Banking facility to students and their parents to enable payment of fees. It will extend corporate internet banking facility to the university as well.

UNI