Date:10/01/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/01/10/stories/2003011004900400.htm

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

New bank card launched

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD Jan. 9. The `HDFC Bank-eSeva' co-branded credit card, which facilitates payment of utility bills and offers a number of add-on facilities for users was launched by the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, here on Thursday.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Thursday, Phani Kumar, Director of eSeva, and Aditya Puri, Managing Director of HDFC Bank, claimed that this was the first such international co-branded credit card in the country involving a Government agency. For the present, the card can be used only to pay water bills and will be extended later to payment of electricity bills, they said. Cardholders can also avail of the `standing instruction facility' for eSeva transactions, under which eSeva will take a one-time authorisation from customers to debit their cards for periodic utility payments.