The State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to provide point of sale machines to the retail businessmen free of cost immediately.
The bank launched “SBI @ Your Door Step”, a road show, in Vellore on Thursday to help merchants sail through the shortage of currency notes.
For the next two days, the SBI van will reach out to customers in different parts of the district. Bank officials said the vehicle would approach the shops directly. The campaign will cover Gudiyatham and Arakkonam. “The vehicle was flagged off in Chennai on November 14. In Vellore, it would approach shops and the merchants can place requests for point of sale machines (swiping machines). We will supply the machines immediately free of charge,” an official said. This way, he said, the merchants could allow customers make purchases without carrying cash.
“It will help ease this situation when cash is in demand,” he added.
Once the shopkeeper lodges a request for the machines, their contact details and email id would be obtained. The machines would be supplied immediately.
The bank would cater to the needs of merchants through this campaign. Merchants could inform the banks if they were in need of Mudra loans through this campaign facility.
A.K. Sarathy, regional manager of SBI, flagged off the campaign vehicle. P.K. Babu, chief manager, SBI Vellore main branch, was present.
