Private sector bank ICICI Bank and fintech firm Niyo have announced a tie-up to issue prepaid cards to workers of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). MSMEs will now be able to get ‘ICICI Bank Niyo Bharat Payroll Card’ powered by Visa. With this, MSMEs can upload the salaries of their workers on the card, which the workers can then utilise as per their need in a seamless manner. The ‘ICICI Bank Niyo Bharat Payroll Card’ allows an individual to receive funds upto Rs. 1 lakh into the card account.

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"It offers convenience and safety of digital banking to the blue-collar workforce, while providing a state-of-the-art salary disbursement solution to the employers," an official statement said.

Any MSME can tie-up with Niyo to avail the prepaid card. After the tie-up, cards are issued to the workers at their workplace itself while their KYC verification is done simultaneously using a bio-metric device. Once activated, workers can use the card to withdraw funds at ATMs, make online transactions on e-commerce portals and make payment by swiping the card at Point of Sale (PoS) machines.

To further facilitate the cardholders, Niyo offers a multilingual app called ‘Niyo Bharat Mobile app’. Workers can download this app from Google Play Store and register themselves. The app will enable them to transfer funds, pay bills or do recharges online. It also allows them to block/unblock the card which provides them control of their card security. The cardholders also get a free accidental death insurance cover.

Speaking on the initiative, Sudipta Roy, Head – Unsecured Assets, ICICI Bank said, “We at ICICI Bank constantly strive to introduce facilities that foster inclusivity and extend the reach of the formal banking ecosystem. In line with this, we are delighted to partner with Niyo for the ‘ICICI Bank Niyo Bharat Payroll Card’. This partnership is yet another initiative by us to make banking products easily accessible to the underbanked population. We believe that armed with this card, workers of MSMEs will be able to enjoy the convenience and safety of digital banking.”

Niyo Co-founder and CEO Vinay Bagri said, “The Niyo Bharat Digital Salary Solution has the potential to bring millions of blue collared salaried workforces into the formal economy and also support the nation’s successful march towards Digital India. Our primary objective is to provide digital banking solutions for the blue-collar segment to not only foster financial inclusion but also inculcate a long-term saving habit among them.”

Darpan Sharma, Business Head-Niyo Bharat said, “Partnership with ICICI Bank is a milestone in our journey to provide best in class service to the underbanked blue collar segment. The partnership will create opportunity to provide all banking services to this segment across the length and breadth of the country”