SBI ties up with Ezetap to launch 'Chota ATM' for INR 499

Ezetap is a mobile based payments company that aims to change the landscape of electronic payments in emerging markets. Co-founded by Abhijit Bose and Bhaktha Keshavachar, their idea got a thrust when Sanjay Swamy, managing partner at AngelPrime Partners decided to invest in the company and came on board as co-founder and chairman. The company has been making good progress over the last couple of years and has now launched the 'Chota ATM' in partnership with SBI (State Bank of India).

Available for INR 499, this device can be bought by the local kirana wala stores. It also is a Point of Sale terminal for collecting electronic payments from any Debit or Credit card. This pocket-sized solution shown in the picture is 100% made in India by Ezetap and can easily be extended to other services.

Sanjay Swamy explains in detail on his blog about how this works:

The solution is offered at an enticing price point of Rs. 499 (as a non-refundable deposit) with a monthly fee of Rs. 150 – and a commission of Rs. 5 per cash-back transaction. Any legitimate business can open a zero balance current account with SBI and any Android or Windows phone or Tablet with a WiFi or data connection. For any Cash@POS transactions, the amount plus commission are settled the next day into the bank account of the merchant.

With respect to Cash@POS, it is a proven solution in the US where any grocery store lets you pay with your card and withdraw up to $100 then and there. RBI today allows a daily limit of Rs. 1000 per cardholder.

This solution is surely a great utility but as a consumer, how safe is this?-"The beauty of this solution is that it is 100% certified by all the required standards and global best practices - EMV, PCI-PTS, PCI-DSS which are standards in the Payments industry. This means that the card reader and the PIN entry are exactly on par and certified as per the same standards as any other ATM," says Sanjay. Ezetap has done all the groundwork and set up this solution, but it's very hard to predict adoption in India. The outreach has now begun and we'll be in touch with Ezetap to track the growth.

Website: Ezetap