THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, SEPTEMBER 18, 2026

The Odisha Housing and Urban Development Department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Bank of India (SBI), through its payment aggregator service SBIePay, to strengthen digital payment infrastructure and facilitate seamless and secure transactions for municipal services across urban local bodies (ULBs) through the SUJOG platform.

The agreement is aimed at providing citizens with convenient, cost-effective and secure digital payment options for municipal taxes, fees, utility charges and other services, reducing the need for physical visits to municipal offices for routine transactions.

The MoU was signed by H&UD Department Additional Secretary Suvendu Sahoo on behalf of the Odisha government and SBI DGM, D&TB, Sushant Kumar Dash on behalf of the bank, in the presence of H&UD Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee. SBI Odisha Circle Chief General Manager Rakesh Yadav was also present.

Under the partnership, citizens using the SUJOG platform will be able to make payments through a wide range of digital modes, including RuPay, Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and AMEX cards, internet banking, mobile banking/IMPS, UPI, UPI-RCC (RuPay Credit Card), UPI-CL (Credit Line) and digital wallets.

The integration is expected to enhance transparency, efficiency and ease of transactions in urban governance while making public payments more accessible to citizens across the state.

A key component of the framework is the direct settlement of collections into the designated bank accounts of respective ULBs on a T+1 business-day basis. Unique transaction identifiers will enable transparent accounting, reconciliation and tracking of collections across urban local bodies.

The payment system will also include provisions for exception handling, MIS-based reconciliation, refunds and chargeback management. These processes will be supported by a turnaround time of seven calendar days, aimed at strengthening transparency and improving citizen confidence in digital payment services.

Padhee appreciated SBI's support in strengthening the SUJOG platform and said the collaboration would help the department further improve the efficiency, convenience and accessibility of citizen services through digital means.

Yadav assured that SBI would extend all possible support and cooperation to make the initiative successful and further strengthen the digital payment ecosystem under SUJOG.

The collaboration marks another step towards strengthening Odisha's digital urban governance framework by integrating a comprehensive payment gateway with municipal service delivery. The initiative is intended to make the payment of urban taxes, fees and utility charges faster, simpler, safer and more accessible for citizens across the state.