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Chennai: With its focus on the unbanked segment in India, Commonwealth Micro Finance India (CMFIL), a part of UK-based Commonwealth Business Council, has launched a multi-purpose prepaid debit card in India.

The company would be launching the cards in Tamil Nadu in the first phase and then spread its wings across India. It aims to sell 20 million cards by 2012 and has obtained a lease finance of Rs. 600 crore for the purpose, reports Financial Chronicle. "The purpose of the card is to bring down the cost of transaction to the end customer. These cards can also be used in retail outlets and a customer can avail a one percent discount in the tied up outlets," said Mahesh Ramachandran, Managing Director and CEO of CMFIL.

The commonwealth card would be available in both physical and virtual forms. The physical card is authenticated through a pin and biometric, while the virtual cards are authenticated through a pin. The physical commonwealth card can be used on points of sale (POS), automated teller machines (ATMs) and other such devices, while the virtual commonwealth card would enable a customer to use mobile banking and mobile commerce services. The company plans to set up three lakh POS across the country by 2012. The card would be a multipurpose card and would also facilitate international money remittances. The company would first launch the card in North Chennai and aims to sell 30,000 cards in the next three months.