SBI Press Release

Coca-Cola and State Bank of India ink pact for Digital Solutions

Coca-Cola and State Bank of India ink pact for Digital Solutions & Literacy Initiative 

2.6 million retailers to benefit by 2020

Coca-Cola India (CCI), Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd (HCCBPL) and State Bank of India (SBI), today announced a strategic partnership to enable 2.6 million retailers and 5000 distributors to conduct business transactions digitally. As part of this partnership, training sessions will also be arranged to help small retailers enhance their digital skills and understand the benefits of adopting cashless transactions.

The two companies today signed an MoU, by which retailers can open a current account in any SBI with Corporate Net banking (CINB) facility. Then, the retailers would be trained by SBI’s authorized trainers along with Coca-Cola, on new and evolving digital business transaction solutions and initiated into SBI’s digital payment options such as Buddy P2P, Buddy Merchant App, SBI Pay etc.




Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson, State Bank of India said, “We are happy to announce this joint endeavour by two leading organisations in response to our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision for a ‘Digital India’. Our digital payment platforms such as Buddy, SBI Pay and State Bank Collect, provide customers easy-to-use and convenient modes of transactions. They also act as the tip of the spear for on boarding consumers and merchants to our larger range of financial products.”

Mr. T. Krishnakumar, CEO, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. & Regional Director – South Asia, said “We recognize and support the Government’s vision of “Digital India” centeredon making India a digitally empowered economy. We have been forerunners in the digital solution space and while all of our payment to Suppliers and more than 90% of our collections from our partners are digitized, we propose to extend this facility to every retailer in the marketplace. Our partnership with SBI is a step forward in this direction.  The digital payment solutions in business transactions will help further strengthen our retail chain ecosystem covering over 2.6 million retailers and 5000 distributors and will substantially reduce the dependence on cash. There is huge potential in e-commerce and m-commerce space, and this partnership between HCCBPL and SBI will go a long way in capitalizing on these fast growing opportunities”.




Mr. Venkatesh Kini, President, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia said, “, “As India moves towards digitization, it is critical that the country’s un-organised retail sector adopt digital payment systems which will provide them an opportunity to further grow their businesses. To bridge the digital gap for small retailers we have partnered with State Bank of India. This will empower and equip small retailer businesses move from cash based to digital transactions which has the potential benefit of making payments more secure and transparent. The inclusion of this new module in our ongoing Parivartan training program, will help retailersto acclimate to digital payments effectively to increase their money management and business skills while establishing a strong foundation for economic development.”

“HCCBPL and CCIPL will leverage “Coca-Cola University on Wheels” (CCU) under its “Parivartan” program to train the retailers and distributors on handling digital payments. The training will integrate SBI’s developed digital payments module into the training capsule. Additionally, HCCBPL, SBI and CCIPL will create a customized payment solution for retailers and distributors selling Coca-Cola products in India.”





SBI Press Release
From L to R: Image – Mr. T. Krishnakumar, CEO, HCCBPL, Ms . Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson, SBI, Mr. Rajnish Kumar, Managing Director, National Banking Group, SBI, Mr. Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice President, Public Affairs & Communication, Coca-Cola India, at the MoU signing ceremony.