The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the State Bank of India (SBI) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim of integrating SBI’s payment gateway, SBIePay, with the eMigrate portal. This integration is expected to provide an additional digital payment service for Indian migrant workers, recruiting agents, and other users of the portal. The announcement was made by officials on Saturday.
The main objective of this agreement is to further facilitate and enhance the scope of safe and legal migration for Indian migrant workers. The MEA issued a statement emphasizing the significance of this integration. Launched in 2014, the eMigrate portal has played a crucial role in streamlining the emigration process for Indian workers traveling to countries where emigration checks are required. The portal serves as a platform that connects foreign employers, registered recruiting agents, and insurance companies issuing the Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Yojna, thereby ensuring seamless, safe, and legal migration.
The statement from the MEA also highlighted that the portal allows emigrants with ECNR (Emigration Check Not Required) category passports who are seeking overseas employment to voluntarily register themselves.
The MoU was signed by Bramha Kumar, Joint Secretary (Overseas Employment and Protector General of Emigrants) from the MEA, and Neelesh Dwivedi, General Manager (NW-I) from SBI. The signing ceremony took place at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi.
According to the statement, the MoU aims to provide an additional digital payment service, called SBIePay, to Indian migrant workers, recruiting agents, and other users of the eMigrate portal. The service will become operational once the integration of SBIePay with the eMigrate portal is successfully completed.
The implementation of this integration will enable users to make various emigration-related payments with zero transaction charges. Payments can be made via UPI, credit/debit cards, and NEFT through net banking of all Indian banks.
The signing of this MoU is expected to further enhance the safety and legality of the migration process for Indian migrant workers, as emphasized in the statement. It serves as a crucial step in leveraging digital payment solutions to support the needs of the Indian workforce and ensure a smooth migration experience.