Credit Adviser

Standard Chartered Bank, India’s 5th Largest Credit Card Issuer, has taken the process of Approving Credit Card Applications Instant and Online. StanChart offers a range of credit cards from entry level Gold Rewards to Manhattan Platinum to Visa Infinite Card, a total of 9 different cards to cater to varying needs of Indian consumers.

What is StanChart Credit Cards Instant Online Approval ?
A consumer who is sure that he doesn’t have any delinquent loans or default accounts and is residing in one of the cities that are qualified by the bank can apply for StanChart Credit Card and get Approval in-principal. The Systems internally

Credit Card is one of the easiest and convenient ways to Shop or Pay for Goods and Services. The industry has evolved but with the Finance Ministry moving towards Cashless transaction Society, much needs to be done to Regulate the Card industry in India. We’d like to point out some of the deficiencies in the current Credit Card eco-system which RBI can address.

• Issue Most Important Terms and Conditions in English, Hindi and Local Language of the State [Local Language is Absent for HDFC, Kotak, ICICI and SBI MITCs which were examined] Print them in legible fonts rather than fine-print

Read moreRBI Needs More Regulations on Credit Card Issuers

Most Consumers ignore to affix their signature on the reverse of the Credit Card. Here is an instance where Mr. Rahul did not affix his signature and put a note “See My Id” (Merchant has to ask for Valid Identification). Rahul misplaced /lost his credit card only to have realized it a day later within which all the damages had been done. Rahul’s card was used for shopping an expensive Watch and then used to pay a Restaurant Bill, together a fraudulent transaction to the tune of Rs 30,000.

Rahul sent us an e-mail asking for how can he get out of this situation ? What are his Rights as a Credit Card Holder when a fraudulent transaction occurs ?

Authentic Data is so essential for Business Analysts and in the light of the same we are going to provide to you some Authentic Data on the Size of Credit Card and Debit Card market in India for Calendar Year 2011.

Firstly, we have uploaded Data on Credit Card and Debit Cards issued by each bank in India for CY 2010. CY 2011 data [Dec-31st 2011] is with us and is used in this analysis. India had 17.67 Mn Credit Cards and 26.37 Mn Debit Cards in Circulation. Breakup of Cards as shown in CY 2010 for CY 2011 is available on request.

• Credit Card Spend by Indians in 2011 Rs 90,872 Cr [$18.17 Bn at an exchange rate of 1 USD = Rs 50]compared to Rs 71, 461 Cr in 2010 [$14.29 Bn].
• Debit Card Spend by Indians in 2011 was Rs 49,761 Cr [$10 Bn ] compared to Rs 35,445 Cr [ $ 7.08 Bn] in 2010.

Read moreSize of Indian Credit + Debit Card Market for CY 2011

Indian Credit Card Operators for quite sometime have been offering Reward Points on Consumers Spending at Merchant Establishments [You don’t get reward points on Cash Withdrawals or Loans on Call]

HDFC Gold Credit Card was offering 1 Point for every Rs 50 Spend in 2006 which later got revised to 1 Point for Rs 100 and now it stands at 1 Point for Rs 150. Axis Silver Credit Card offers 1 Point for every Rs 100 spend. So if you had spent Rs 10,000 in a billing cycle you would accumulate 67 Points on HDFC Gold Card and 100 Points on Axis Silver Card.

Now when you have accumulated enough points,

We have obtained information from the RBI on the Number of Complaints received by the Regulator on various parameters involving Debit & Credit Card Operations.

RBI said that a total of 17,116 complaints were filed by consumers in FY 2010-11 involving Unsolicited credit cards, Charging of annual fee in spite of being offered as free card, Wrong Billing, Excessive Charges, Non-dispensation of money

Read more25% of Complaints to RBI from Debit / Credit Cards of Banks