Shoppers Stop Credit Card

K Raheja's retail chain, Shoppers Stop is all set to woo the small ticket shopper this festival season. In the past, Shoppers Stop has been offering credit to Big-ticket buyers for items ranging between Rs 50,000 to Rs 80,000.

The plan is to offer easy loans in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. The interest rates on these loans will be in the range of 9% to 11% on the principal amount. [This is awesome Rate of Interest and all Credit Card APRs must be as low as this one ] Over 100,000 loyalty card members and credit card holders of the company are likely to be the first beneficiary of this scheme.

Mr. Govind Shrikhande of Shoppers Stop said,

We have been working on a new credit card model for the past two months and expect consumers to avail themselves of this benefit across categories.

Shoppers Stop has tied up with Citibank for all its co-branded cards. For its retail real estate needs, the company is backed by UBS Global Estate and Asset Management.

Credit Card Companies withdraw liability Insurance Cover

In a shocking development, India's Banks and Credit Card companies have withdrawn the most essential safety measure for Credit Card Holders against fraudulent transactions -
outstanding liability insurance.

What does this mean ?
Say, I am physically located in Bangalore and someone else is using my credit card to shop in Mumbai over the Internet or maybe by actually swiping the card. In such a case as a card holder I am not liable for those purchases and the outstanding liability insurance will take care of this.
Purchases made on lost cards are listed as disputed transactions and until the matter is resolved, the affected customers are included in the defaulters list. As long as the defaulter tag remains, such customers are denied other credit facilities including home loans.

Shameless and Consumer unfriendly credit card companies in India have withdrawn this benefit for consumers holding credit card with no annual fees.

Analysis & Conclusion:
The delinquency on credit cards has quadrupled to Rs 7,000 crore in a year. Banks claim that the premium on insurance cover offered to credit card holders has shot up, that happens only when banks start claiming way more than what they pay. This is a VERY VERY fluid situation.

The RBI has finally opened its eyes and is drafting a new set of rules for Credit on Cards to Indians. Many companies do not check the repayment record of the borrower and issue high credit lines and then start harnessing as was the case of ICICI Bank in Bangalore.

Remember Credit Card is no FREE Money. Kindly use it wisely.

CitiBusiness Card for SMEs

Indian Oil Corporation marked the celebration of decade of partnership with Citibank for Petro Card. India's first fuel card was launched in 1997. In 2003, they launched IndianOil Citibank Debit Card followed by Gold card launch in 2006. They have a customer base of 1 million.

Due to increasing thrust from the Government towards SMEs, the duo have decided to launch IndianOil CitiBusiness Credit Card for SMEs and Professionals. Mr. Ramchandran of Citi Bank Business Cards said,

Fuel is undoubtedly among the top expenses for small businesses and professionals. We are delighted to expand our partnership with Indian Oil to create a vaulable savings advantage for Small Businesses and Professionals. We expect an average credit limit of Rs 500,000 to Rs 1,000,000.

If you are a Professional [Doctor, Architect, etc] or running a successful SME with good credit history and regularly filed tax returns, then you maybe eligible for this card.

Corp Bank + LIC + GE Money - New Credit Card Venture

CardBhai has reliably learnt from his insiders that Corporation Bank has joined hands with GE Money India, LIC Housing Finance and LIC Mutual Fund to sign a MOU with Life Insurance Corporation of India to create a new credit card company that would leverage the strengths of each company. The parties aim to finalise the definitive agreements by end of October 2007.

This joint venture is terrific because it explores the strengths of each of the partners. LIC has the largest consumer base in the Indian Insurance / Financial market, GE Money has the know how to run a credit card business while they need a bank to finance, which is being fulfilled by Corporation Bank.

Travelguru - VISA Cashback Offer

We have reliably learnt that Travelguru along with VISA has launched a cash back offer for all VISA Credit Card Holders who book Flight Tickets, Hotels or Domestic Holiday Packages. Details as follows,

• Airline offer is valid only on domestic flights of Jet Airways, Kingfisher and Indian Airlines.
  
• VISA Signature Card Holders get the highest Cash Back Rewards of 50% on Airlines and 25% on Hotels and Holiday Booking.
  
• VISA Platinum holders are eligible for 25% Cash Back Rewards on Airlines and 25% on Hotels and Holidays.
• VISA Gold - Cach Back of 15% on Airlines and 25% on Hotels and Holidays
• VISA Others - 7.5% cash back on Flight Reservations and 15% on hotels and holidays.

Offer valid till Dec-31st-2007. Do share your experience with us.