SBI not averse to fund start-ups

Mumbai: The country's largest lender State Bank of India is keen to play a part in the flourishing start-up scene, and is open to invest in a financial sector company which can help in its operations, a senior official has said.

"We are open to engage with start-ups...This will be a strategic one wherein we can invest in a financial sector company which could help us," a senior bank official said over the weekend.

The bank has neither invested in any start-up yet, nor in talks with any, the official added.

When asked if it is looking at creating a dedicated fund within the bank, as many corporates have done, the official replied in the negative.

"Funds are not a problem. If we get the right fit, there are various avenues through which we can invest," the official said, adding one such vehicle might be doing it through the Oman India Joint Investment Fund.

Last week, a media report said chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya had a meeting with start-ups in Bengaluru in which new companies from the financial services sector presented their potentially disruptive solutions.

Meanwhile, the official said the bank is planning to increase the number of point of sale machines installed at merchants by 1.20 lakh to over 3.50 lakh by the end of the fiscal year.

The RBI decision to increase the cash-out limits at the POS terminals in rural areas is a welcome move, the official said, adding 1.06 lakh of its P0S machines have the capability to act as micro-ATM which can help the merchants with their cash management.

Over a three-year period, the bank is planning to increase its P0S machines to 1 million, which will make it the largest in the P0S network in the country, the official said.

At present, private sector lenders including Axis Bank and HDFC Bank have higher presence in the P0S machines space than SBI.