New Delhi, April 29 The State Bank of India (SBI) will offer essential banking services to more than 1.8 million people who travel between India and neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh through land ports, its Chief General Manager, Debashish Mishra, said on Tuesday.
Highlighting the bank’s phased expansion strategy, Mishra told IANS that the SBI aims to cover key land ports such as Petrapole on the Bangladesh border in West Bengal and Raxaul on the Nepal border in Bihar within the next six months.
"These locations alone account for nearly 80 per cent of the cross-border footfall," he told IANS.
Mishra made the statement after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SBI and the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI).
Under this agreement, the country’s largest public sector bank will provide a range of financial services at the entry and exit points managed by the authority.
These include foreign exchange, export-import support, card payment services, and corporate salary packages.
Currently, the LPAI operates 15 land entry and exit points, and 11 more are in the pipeline. The LPAI is a statutory body under the Ministry of Home Affairs, tasked with the development, modernisation, and management of land border infrastructure, particularly Integrated Check Posts (ICPs).
Its main objective is to ensure smooth and efficient movement of goods and passengers across India’s international borders while maintaining high standards of security.
According to Mishra, the SBI has 11 branches located near these ports and plans to expand its presence further by opening more branches or banking outlets as needed.
In addition to physical services, the SBI will offer digital banking facilities including net banking, phone banking, debit and credit cards, foreign travel cards, and point-of-sale (POS) terminals.
This integrated approach is expected to provide a comprehensive banking solution to people living and travelling through these regions.
The SBI, which serves over 500 million customers across India, operates more than 22,500 branches and has a network of 63,580 ATMs nationwide.
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