MUMBAI: Axis Bank, which has risen to the top position in credit card terminals in just four years, plans to expand this business further. The bank ranked fourth in FY21, and is leveraging its increased presence in the sector as a strategic entry point to acquire deposits and offer loans to small businesses.
The bank’s strategy for growing merchant acquisition is to approach businesses doing a significant number of UPI transactions where it has as a share of over a fourth of merchant transactions as a payment service provider.The bank has also innovated in developing new card acceptance devices which can be rented out for as low as Rs 150-200 per month. “Earlier, the merchant would need to have a throughput of nearly Rs 2 lakh to justify a card swipe machine. With the new technology, someone doing transactions of Rs 30,000 per month can deploy the new device,” said Sanjeev Moghe, head of payments at Axis Bank.

According to RBI data as of June 2024, Axis Bank has 18.7 lakh card terminals out of the country’s 89.6 lakh – a market share of 20.8%, and ahead of ICICI Bank’s 17.4 lakh machines.
The device innovations include a low-cost card reader that works with any smartphone, a soundbox for UPI payments which also accepts contactless (card with NFC or near field communications) feature. The banks is also working on a low-cost soundbox that includes a credit card reader. On Tuesday, the bank launched Neo – a merchant app that enables shops to accept payments, access transaction reports, and raise service requests directly from their mobile devices. The app streamlines processes, eliminates the need for a relationship manager, and provides insights through transaction and settlement reports.