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GTB launches Proton international debit card

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

At a function on Wednesday evening, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister T Devender Goud launched the Global Trust Bank's Proton debit card. Pullela Gopichand, All-England badminton champion, was the first recipient of the Proton card.

GTB managing director Sudhakar Gande said: "Debit cards are increasingly becoming preferred payment mode internationally. We propose to offer Proton debit cards free to customers who maintain a specified average quarterly minimum balance. The cards will also be offered to our corporate salary account customers. Our aim is to be number one player in the debit card sector in Andhra Pradesh. "

"This is a crucial year for GTB. In the last one year, we have been going through ups and downs. We are slowly getting back to the path of exemplary growth. We are launching several strategic initiatives this year. We rolled out Unnati scheme for small and medium enterprises recently. The international debit card is the second of the new initiatives," Gande pointed out.

The Proton Card has been launched in association with Visa International. With Visa Electron, the GTB debit cardholders will have global acceptance, convenience and versatility. The debit card is accepted at 750,000 ATMs worldwide, including 40,000Visa Electron merchant outlets and 2,500 Visa ATMs in India.

Visa International South Asia country manager Santanu Mukherjee said: "The potential for debit cards in this country is enormous and the consumer base of debit cards will grow much faster than credit cards. First introduced in India in 2000, Visa Electron consumer base has grown to two million, with seven issuers, including the GTB."

Along with Proton debit card, the GTB also launched its e-banking kiosks. The state-of-the-art e-banking kiosks have been developed exclusively for GTB by NFK Cyber-Kiosk, a Mumbai-based company.

The e-banking kiosk was formally inaugurated by Satyam Computer Services chairman Ramalinga Raju. Sudhakar Gande said e-banking kiosks would be deployed at select GTB branches and ATMs and would be extended shortly to cover all the 100 branches and 200 ATMs in 33 cities.

GTB's e-banking kiosks, the first of their kind in India, would offer multiple facilities to the customers. Apart from being able to carry out most of their banking transactions, customers can use the kiosks to make payments against their utility bills, insurance premium etc.

GTB has already tied up with Life Insurance Corporation of India, Rediff.Com, Sify.Com, Fabmart.Com, Airtel, Escotel and e-Seva (AP e-governance project).

"GTB's e-banking kiosks will become the one touch point for the customers to conduct banking transactions as well as to effect payments," Gande explained.

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