Current Affairs - Banking

The LUXURA Metal Credit Card was introduced as a premium offering designed for high-net-worth individuals seeking global acceptance and exclusive lifestyle benefits. Punjab National Bank launched this card on the VISA Infinite platform to strengthen its premium banking portfolio. The card comes with several high-end features such as accelerated reward points, zero foreign exchange markup, complimentary access to global airport lounges, and round-the-clock VISA concierge services. By launching this metal credit card, the bank aims to combine luxury, convenience, and personalised services, enhancing its appeal among affluent customers and expanding its presence in the premium credit card segment.

State Bank of India has launched CHAKRA, a Centre of Excellence aimed at strengthening financial support for sunrise sectors that are crucial for India’s long-term development vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. The initiative focuses on eight key areas, such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, semiconductors, batteries, decarbonisation, smart infrastructure, and data centres. CHAKRA is designed to enhance risk assessment capabilities, develop innovative financing solutions, encourage research-based insights, and facilitate industry dialogue, thereby enabling effective capital flow into future-ready and technology-driven sectors.

Suryoday Small Finance Bank has strengthened its digital banking capabilities by adopting an AI-powered Video KYC solution developed by HyperVerge. This advanced technology enables faster and more efficient customer onboarding while ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements. By leveraging artificial intelligence, the bank has been able to significantly improve agent productivity, allowing more verification calls to be completed each day without increasing operational costs. The initiative supports scalable growth, maintains high verification quality, and enhances customer experience, reflecting the bank’s focus on innovation and technology-driven transformation in the financial services sector.

Bank of Baroda has collaborated with India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd to strengthen infrastructure financing across the country. This partnership focuses on lending and syndicating loans for a wide range of infrastructure projects, ensuring better access to large-scale funding. The initiative is designed to support the timely completion of critical infrastructure by improving financial availability and execution capabilities. Through co-financed project execution, the collaboration aims to accelerate growth in key sectors such as transport, energy, and urban development, contributing to sustainable economic growth and improved national infrastructure capacity.

Karnataka Bank has integrated Khajane‑2 e-receipt payments into its Internet banking platform, allowing citizens to pay Karnataka state taxes and fees securely. The system operates via the Khajane‑2 IFMS and RBI’s e-Kuber infrastructure, ensuring safe and efficient online transactions. This initiative enhances digital convenience by providing seamless access for customers to fulfill their government payment obligations. By adopting this technology, Karnataka Bank supports the government’s push for digitization, simplifies payment processes, and strengthens the accessibility of state financial services for residents.