Reserve Bank of India's new PIN rule boosts sales of payment solution companies

Companies that help in processing card paymentslook set to benefit from rising demand for portable card swipe machines after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) adopted new rules to prevent fraud and enhance security.
Merchants in India usually swipe cards through a reader to generate receipts that customers sign, but the new rule, effective December 1, adds another layer of security by making debit card holders enter their personal identification numbers (PIN)to validate transactions via these machines, also referred to as point-of-sale (POS) terminals.
Businesses such as fuel stations, hotels and restaurants that normally keep their card machines out of the customer's reach will have to buy the portable, GPRS-enabled devices to offer convenience to clients.
Sunith Menon, India's managing director for France-based Ingenico SA, which manufactures such devices and supplies them to various banks, expects revenue to rise by 20 per cent as demand for the wireless POS terminals rises after the new RBI mandate.
"We are seeing an increased requirement coming in from banks," he said, adding that ICICI-First Data, Bank of Baroda and Axis Bank were among those who have placed orders for GPRS-enabled POS terminals.
Of the 20,000 POS terminals sold every month by Ingenico in the country, 10 per cent were GPRS-enabled models. Menon now expects such devices to account for a 30 per cent share in his near-term sales.
The new PIN mandate would affect more than 350 million debit card holders in the country. A recent study by industry body ASSOCHAM showed that the debit card users, growing at an annual rate of 18 per cent, were clocking sales of 69 billion rupees using POS terminals every month.
The number of POS terminals in the market has grown significantly in the recent years. As of the end of September, there were 965,000 terminals in use across the country, 46 per cent higher than the 661,000 devices in March 2012, according to data provided by e-payment services provider Worldline India.
Pine Labs India, which counts Starbucks, Future Group and Pantaloon Retail among its clients, has installed about 4,000 GPRS swipe machines since November, higher than the monthly average of 200 to 300. In the next month, the company expects to install another 2,000 such machines.
"Somebody like a premium restaurant chain will never like to call the customer, neither would the customer like to go behind the counter," said Kush Mehra, vice president of payment solutions at Pine Labs. "They have become the newest recipients of this technology along with a very large network of fuel stations."
One of their clients, Speciality Restaurants, which operates brands such as Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta, have placed orders for 50 GPRS machines and plan to buy at least one machine for each of their 74 restaurants in India.
Over the years, Indians have increasingly started using plastic as their payment method. But fraudulent transactions on credit and debit cards have also become common. The central bank earlier this year directed banks to put in place certain security and risk control measures to safeguard customers' interest.

List of Banks in India

Allahabad Bank - Allahabad Bank is over 125years old bank in India. It is headquartered in Calcutta. It is a profitable and professional nationalised bank.
*. Bank of Baroda - Bank of Baroda which set on sail in a small country craft in 1908 from a small town of Baroda, is today catering to the high seas as the flagship of Indian Banking Industry. Having weathered many a storm during its 91 year long voyage, the bank is continuing its quest for excellence through exploring new horizons of banking.
*. Bank of India
*. Bank of Madura - An innovative high-tech oriented Bank on the high growth path yet maintaining its traditional strength of better, knowledgeable customet service with personal touch.
*. Corporation Bank - Corporation Bank is a leading Public sector Bank in India offering a full range of Banking services.
*. Dena Bank
*. Federal Bank
*. ICICI Bank's - ICICI Bank has been promoted by ICICI, India's premier financial institute. The site istargeted at Non Resident Indians
*. idbi - Industrial devolopment bank of india.
*. SBI - State Bank of India - The State Bank of India is the oldest and largest commercial bank in India, with its presence covering all time zones in the world. SBI has a network which extends to every nook and corner of India, with a spread of more than 8700 offices across the country. Its foreign network comprises of 50 offices in 34countries.
*. UTI BANK LTD. - UTI Bank is among the first private sector banks in India. Sincethe commencement of its operations in 1994, the Bank has grown to be highly competitive in termsof its products and services.
*. Vysya Bank Ltd. - The largest private sector bank with a wide network and with a technology driven products.

India to probe black money Bank claims.

A day after Indian activist Arvind Kejriwal accused it of inaction over black money allegedly stashed away in HSBC Bank in Geneva, government on Saturday said investigations are in progress with tax authorities to obtain more information regarding the reported account holders.
Without naming either the bank or the account holders involved, Indian government came out with a statement saying that appropriate action has been taken on these cases based on information received last year from the French government.
"And further including assessment, tax collection and levy of penalty will be taken as per the provisions ofthe Income Tax Act, 1961 and based on the facts of theeach case", said a statement issued on behalf of the Department of Revenue of the Finance Ministry.
The statement comes in the wake of allegations levelled by India Against Corruption (IAC) activist Kejriwal and lawyer Prashant Bhushan that government has taken no action on the information provided purportedly on 700 account holders in HSBCGeneva by the French government.
They had also named top industrialists and a politician as having parked their money to the tune of R s. 6000 crore in the bank.
The official statement merely said that information was received in June last year bythe government from its counterpart in France relating to certain bank accounts reportedly held by certain individuals and non-individuals in a foreign bank.
Reference to this matter was made by the then Finance Minister during the course ofthe debate on adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on December 14. Subsequently,answers to question on this matter were furnished in theRajya Sabha on August 23 this year.
"Information was received inJune, 2011 by the Government of India from the Government of France relating to certain bank accounts reportedly held by certain individuals/ non-individuals in a foreign bank", the statement said.
"Information received from the Government of France has been analysed and investigations into the information have been undertaken by the different jurisdictional authorities under the Income Tax Act 1961", it said.
The statement said it would be pertinent to point out thatthe information received from France is covered by the confidentiality clause under the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) between India and France and can be used onlyfor the tax purposes specified there in.