Farmers can now avail their kisan credit card (KCC) limit without visiting bank branches for disbursements. All they need to do is swipe their electronic cards at the nearest ATM outlet whenever they are in need of funds!
ING Vysya Bank on Monday launched an ATM card exclusively for farmers, linked to their KCC account. To get this card, farmers need to get a KCC limit with the bank through its branch network and get their loan sanctioned. They can then use their ATM card to withdraw funds according to the requirement through the ATM networks.
Requirement of funds for farmers are usually staggered across varying timelines of the crop season — procuring seeds, fertilisers, labour payments etc.
According to a press release from the bank, the card was launched in Chandigarh recently.
ING Vysya Bank will offer this card initially in the North and the roll-out is expected to begin this month.
Mr Shailendra Bhandari, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ING Vysya Bank, said in the release that the ING Kisan card “leverages technology to bring farmers easy access to credit anytime, anywhere”.
salient feature
A salient feature of this card is that the interest rate savings since the customer starts paying interest only on the swiped/availed amount.
Existing ING Vysya customers who have a KCC limit can apply for availing this add-on facility.
Using this card, farmers can withdraw up to Rs 25,000 from any ATM. However, only cash withdrawal through ATMs is allowed, and farmers cannot use this card for swiping at merchant outlets. This has been done to mitigate the risk of misuse.
The card will also be replaced within 72 hours from reporting in case of stolen/missing card.
The ING Kisan card will be integrated to the bank's savings account.