SBI Card and PhonePe forge strategic alliance; launch feature-rich co-branded credit cards

THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, JULY 22, 2025

In a major development in India’s digital financial landscape, SBI Card, the country’s largest pure-play credit card issuer, has joined hands with fintech giant PhonePe to launch the PhonePe SBI Card — a co-branded credit card tailored to meet the evolving lifestyle and digital spending needs of Indian consumers.

The partnership has introduced two variants of the credit card — PhonePe SBI Card PURPLE and PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK — both of which are designed to offer superior value across everyday categories like groceries, bill payments, travel, and online shopping. Available on both RuPay and VISA networks, these contactless cards offer flexibility and convenience, with the RuPay variant also supporting UPI linkage for seamless in-store and online payments across millions of merchants.

Users can apply for the card directly through the PhonePe app using a fully digital process and manage all aspects of the card — purchases, repayments, and rewards — within the same platform.

The co-branded cards deliver value on a wide range of transactions. The PhonePe SBI Card SELECT BLACK offers up to 10 per cent value back as reward points on PhonePe and Pincode app transactions, and up to 5% on other online spends. The PURPLE variant offers up to 3 per cent on PhonePe and Pincode, 2 per cent on other online transactions, and 1 per cent on all other eligible spends.

Cardholders also receive welcome benefits — ₹1,500 e-gift voucher with the SELECT BLACK card (joining fee ₹1,499) and ₹500 e-gift voucher with the PURPLE card (joining fee ₹499). Accumulated reward points can be redeemed to offset credit card bills or to claim e-gift vouchers from the SBI Card catalogue.

The SELECT BLACK variant provides a ₹5,000 travel voucher on annual spends of ₹5 lakh, four complimentary domestic lounge visits per year, and a Complimentary Priority Pass for international lounge access. The PURPLE card offers a ₹3,000 travel voucher upon reaching ₹3 lakh in annual spends. Both cards also feature a 1 per cent fuel surcharge waiver.

Salila Pande, MD & CEO, SBI Card, said, “Our strategic partnership with PhonePe is a significant step towards further popularising credit card usage by combining SBI Card’s domain expertise with PhonePe’s wide-reaching digital network. This card offers a unique blend of benefits and convenience tailored to India’s growing appetite for digital financial solutions.”

Sameer Nigam, Co-founder & CEO, PhonePe, remarked, “Through our partnership with SBI Card, we’re moving beyond digital payments and into formal credit. By embedding the card experience directly into our app, we’ve made it simple and intuitive, while laying the foundation for a more inclusive credit ecosystem in India. This card will empower millions of users to realise their financial aspirations.”

With this alliance, SBI Card and PhonePe are redefining credit access for digitally savvy Indian consumers, blending robust rewards with unmatched ease of use in a mobile-first ecosystem.