KVB, SBI cards come out with co-branded credit card

CHENNAI: The Karur Vysya Bank (KVB), in a strategic tie-up with SBI Cards, today launched the KVB-SBI co-branded Visa credit cards. Initially, the cards would be issued for the customers of KVB, its CEO and MD K Venkataraman told reporters here on Friday. He said this was the only product that was missing from the KVB’s portfolio. “With the launch of credit cards, the product offerings from KVB is now complete”, he added. The KVB has tied up with market leaders SBI cards for its cobranded cards, which would be available in two variants -- Platinum and Gold -- and was loaded with a host of benefi ts.“The credit cards will be both magnetic stripe and chip-based providing a high level of security to the cardholders”, he added. On the reason for KVB, which was having a history of 95years, choosing a partner for launching credit card services,Vekataraman said “it’s like either you have food at your home or have it outside”.The agreement between the two banks included revenue sharing, he added. Speaking on the occasion, Kadambi Narahari, CEO, SBI Cards and Payment Services Private Limited, said even with India having a population of more than over billion, the penetration level of credit card was just 18 million. He said the credit card industry was poised for an explosive growth in the coming years.