CORE India - Consumer Online Resource and Empowerement Centre

The Ministry of Company Affairs has set up a Consumer Online Resource and Empowerement Centre - CORE to protect the rights of Indian consumers.

CORE deals complaints of Indian consumers in wide range of areas ranging from Banking, Credit Cards, IPOs, Telecom Service Providers, Educational Institutions etc

I have to admit the fact that Banks and Credit Card companies need to be taken to task by RBI for their errant behavior and non-transparent operations. To file a complaint with RBI on bad credit card companies, write to the RBI Ombudsman here. Try to get your issues resolved with CORE, if not then take up the issue with local Consumer Court.

Please feel free to write to feedback @ CardBhai.com

Premium Credit Cards Customers Grow 100% YoY

Premium category credit cards have witnessed 100% growth on a YoY basis and industry sources have told us that they expect it to grow 50% this year against the regular credit cards growth of 25-30%.

So what are Premium Credit Cards ?
These are the cards which are loaded with lots of benefits to attract High Networth Individuals. They have very high credit limits as well as insurance cover, lounge access, higher reward points, discounts at hotels and airlines etc.

These cards account for less than 5% of the total credit cards issued in India. However, the spend and income generation from such cards is more than 10%. The rate of defaults is also much lower on these cards and customers don't mind paying some credit card fees on the same.

With the increasing purchasing power of Indian consumer, Credit Cards have unlimited potential for growth in India.

Tata Empower MasterCard

Tata's have finally launched their credit card in association with SBI and MasterCard. This card makes you a member of the Empower Program – India's First Multi-brand Loyalty Program, a unique alliance of 19 leading partner brands with most of them from the Tata group such as - Taj Hotels, Tata Indicom, Westside etc.

The Tata Credit Card Empowers you to:
• Earn Higher Points
• Build Points Faster
• Redeem Points Instantly !!

You can apply for the card here.

SBI Gold and More Card Launched.

State Bank of India which launched Gold international Debit Card Last Week and SBI Platinum Card Yesterday has also launched SBI Gold and More Card.

SBI Gold and More Card is a Gold Card in association with MasterCard. This card comes with 2% cash back on purchases made at Departmental stores, restaurants etc beside utility payments. This card also has the 2.5% fuel surcharge waiver at any Petrol pump in any city. Kindly remember to read the terms and conditions before applying for the card as they may withdraw any offer at any time. HDFC and ICICI Bank are known to commit such frauds and burden customers. They haven't left me, forget the other consumers.

Suggestions and Comments maybe sent to feedback AT CardBhai.com

Credit Card Fraud in India by Foreign and Private Banks

The Ministry of Finance just a while ago informed the Lok Sabha about the fraud in Credit Cards by PSU Banks, Private Banks and Foreign Banks and Institutions.

The data suggests that Private Banks and Foreign Banks have registered the highest rate of growth in Credit Card Fraud. while PSU Banks have placed all checks to resist fraud and have seen a decline. Here is the complete statistics

PSU Banks: [Bank of Baroda, SBI, Canara Bank, etc]
Year 2004 - 111 Frauds involving Rs 89.5 Lakh
Year 2005 - 327 Frauds involving Rs 277 Lakh
Year 2006 - 10 Frauds involving Rs 21.4 Lakhs

Private Banks: [ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, UTI/Axis Bank, Kotak, etc ]
Year 2004 - 2699 Frauds involving Rs 293.8 Lakhs
Year 2005 - 5274 Frauds involving Rs 662.3 Lakh
Year 2006 - 13,350 Frauds involving Rs 1771.2 Lakhs

Foreign Banks:[Citibank, HSBC, GE Money, Standard Chartered Bank, etc]
Year 2004 - 3205 Frauds involving Rs 766.4 Lakh
Year 2005 - 3188 Frauds involving Rs 897.4 Lakh
Year 2006 - 3908 Frauds involving Rs 1208 Lakhs

So if you are applying for a new credit card, you know where to apply now. PSU banks with their conservative banking measures seem to have maintained customer faith and trust while Private Banks seem to be ripping of the innocent Indian consumer.