Barclays Bank Plc, credit card customers get mobile banking facility under this they will be able to access their accounts through SMS. A press release issued by Bank stated this facility is being offered free of charge to both its existing and new credit card customers.
The release added using this facility the customers will be able to check their current outstanding balance, mini-statement details and payment details of their credit card by simply sending text messages. The customer can send SMS on 56161 with the required instructions. Charges are applicable on every SMS sent, levied by the mobile services provider of the customer.
Barclays Bank Plc India's Interim Managing Director, Mr Ram Gopal, informed that “mobile technology is quickly becoming a leading source of convenience for customers as more and more customers want information on the move...the current offering from Barclays card, we believe, will add greater convenience to our customers' interactions with the bank.''
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Customers prefer debit cards to credit cards
Now day’s customers prefer debit cards to credit cards, mainly because of shift in strategy from their banks.
One of the bank customers Kumud Hirawal reached out for her debit card rather than her credit card.
Some of the banks like ICICI have nearly stopped issuing of new credit cards and even canceling the existing cards of the defaulters. Moreover the banks are publicizing attractive offers to get back their customers such as Kumud to shift to their debit cards.
It is believed the increase in preference of debit card in the industry is due to banks increasing push for debit card usage combined with the customer’s cautiousness with regard to high credit card charges.
According to data for the first two months of the fiscal year there has been 15% of decrease in the payments made by credit card whereas there is increase of more than 40% in the usage of debit cards for the same period.
Moreover there has been 12% decline in the issuances of fresh credit card and there has been overall increase from 80% to 86% in the share of debit cards.
Currently bankers have started making stringent checks on the credit histories of the credit card customers which has raised fear amongst them that customers might default on their credit card payments.
A customer pointed out, “Banks are using CIBIL products and services extensively in their risk management process, at every stage of the customer lifecycle".
The sentiments expressed by some of the country’s bankers have given indication of purposeful shift in their strategy.
Aditya Puri, MD of HDFC Bank, pointed out, "I am issuing cards to customers who will pay my money back."
However Romesh Sobti, MD and CEO of IndusInd Bank, stated, "We are looking to revive our emphasis on debit cards for our customers."
It clearly indicates that banks are trying ways to improve their credit card portfolios which have been badly hit due to increase in default rate and the customers are also preferring a debit card in hand rather than having two credit cards.
One of the bank customers Kumud Hirawal reached out for her debit card rather than her credit card.
Some of the banks like ICICI have nearly stopped issuing of new credit cards and even canceling the existing cards of the defaulters. Moreover the banks are publicizing attractive offers to get back their customers such as Kumud to shift to their debit cards.
It is believed the increase in preference of debit card in the industry is due to banks increasing push for debit card usage combined with the customer’s cautiousness with regard to high credit card charges.
According to data for the first two months of the fiscal year there has been 15% of decrease in the payments made by credit card whereas there is increase of more than 40% in the usage of debit cards for the same period.
Moreover there has been 12% decline in the issuances of fresh credit card and there has been overall increase from 80% to 86% in the share of debit cards.
Currently bankers have started making stringent checks on the credit histories of the credit card customers which has raised fear amongst them that customers might default on their credit card payments.
A customer pointed out, “Banks are using CIBIL products and services extensively in their risk management process, at every stage of the customer lifecycle".
The sentiments expressed by some of the country’s bankers have given indication of purposeful shift in their strategy.
Aditya Puri, MD of HDFC Bank, pointed out, "I am issuing cards to customers who will pay my money back."
However Romesh Sobti, MD and CEO of IndusInd Bank, stated, "We are looking to revive our emphasis on debit cards for our customers."
It clearly indicates that banks are trying ways to improve their credit card portfolios which have been badly hit due to increase in default rate and the customers are also preferring a debit card in hand rather than having two credit cards.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Using Credit Card to do big purchases show your ID PROOF
Now if you plan to do purchasing of big amount using your credit card then you have to proof your identity. Banks and payment processing firms such as Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide have started a new drive under which you will be requested to provide an ID proof. This new drive has been started in order to prevent the fraudulent use of credit and debit cards.
Recently Rupesh Shah, 30-year-old purchased 32-inch LCD television set at a Croma store in Mumbai. He offered his credit card to make payment of Rs 40,500 but the store man asked him to provide proof of identity.
ICICI Bank Ltd. Is country’s largest credit card issuer among the private sector bank with around 8.5 million cards, has informed its customers that they might have to provide their identity proof at merchant outlets (or stores) in case do purchasing of big amount using credit card.
Although most banks have directed merchants to check the identity proof when a customer makes high-value payment with credit card in order to prevent fraudulent transactions but some of them have taken this responsibility on themselves. For instance Praveen Bansal, deputy general manager, transaction banking department, state owned bank Union Bank of India, told, “Written to all our credit and debit card holders to register their mobile phone numbers with the bank. For transactions over Rs500 on credit or debit cards, we send an SMS to the customer giving details of the transactions”.
However some of the customers are reluctant to produce ID card every time they do purchasing of high-value with credit cards but most of them have realized that this measure will protect their money, too.
Ravi Prakash Jha, store manager at an outlet of The Mobile Store in Mumbai, a chain that sells wireless phones and accessories said, “We ask for an identity proof from people who make purchases of Rs7,000 and above on their credit or debit cards”. “Consumers are hesitant to show their identity proof, but they are cooperating with us because we tell them that this process will help prevent misuse of their cards.”
Although some of the consumers agree, with the usefulness of the ID measures. Sandeep Tiwari, an accounts manager with a real estate developer who was asked for an ID proof when he bought a Nokia phone for Rs8,000 at The Mobile Store told, “It’s a good way to prevent misuse of cards and avoid fraudulent transaction, but I feel that this is not a foolproof plan because it’s very easy for fraudsters to forge identity proof such as driving license, and they can still misuse the card”.
However there is variation in the definition of high-value transactions across banks and merchant establishments. According to anonymous official working with a payments processing company, “a customer will have to provide an identity proof for purchases of Rs7,500 and above at a jewellery store, purchases of over Rs5,000 at a mobile store and purchases of over Rs8,000 at an electronic showroom”.
C.S. Jain, executive director, head of personal banking group, IDBI Bank informed IDBI Bank Ltd, for instance, has directed merchant outlets to check the ID proof of the card users doing purchasing of worth exceeding Rs10,000. “IDBI Bank debit card holders receive SMS alerts for any transaction over Rs10,000. These are the steps the bank takes to check frauds.”
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data provide in July bulletin in India by 31 May, there are around 48.42 million credit cards users with a total outstanding amount of Rs9,748.31 crore. Whereas by the end of May there are around 283.58 million debit card users in the country, and the spending on debit cards amounted to Rs3,665.91 crore, according to the central bank’s figures.
The senior official from a payments processing company quoted in the first instance, “The fraud to sales ratio in India is at 0.12 which means of every Rs100 spent 12 paise is lost”. “The fraud ratio is not alarming. It has been stable at around 0.12 for the past two-three years, but to ensure it remains low, we have introduced this best practice.”
A senior official with Axis Bank Ltd has 600,000 credit cards and 125,000 point-of-sale (PoS) terminals informed, “Fraudsters usually rob cards and make purchases of electronic items and jewellery as they have resale value.” PoS terminals are machines that read credit or debit card information and approve or reject a transaction.
An anonymous person said, “Frauds are also rampant at curio shops, which are largely visited by tourists. Certain cities like Agra, Coimbatore and Chennai are places where card frauds are rampant”.
In February, then minister of state for home affairs Shakeel Ahmad had informed the Lok Sabha that between April and December 2008, ICICI Bank had informed the RBI about 8,280 cases of credit card fraud worth Rs11.47 crore.
While American Express Banking Corp. accounted 703 cases due to which it faced a loss of about Rs6.04 crore and on the other hand 2,484 cases of fraud were reported by Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) due to which it faced a loss of Rs4.90 crore, Ahmad told Parliament. The other foreign banks which also listed the loss were Citibank incurred losses of Rs4.73 crore, Standard Chartered Bank, reported Rs2.39 crore and Deutsche Bank, Rs2.09 crore, all during the same period.
Recently Rupesh Shah, 30-year-old purchased 32-inch LCD television set at a Croma store in Mumbai. He offered his credit card to make payment of Rs 40,500 but the store man asked him to provide proof of identity.
ICICI Bank Ltd. Is country’s largest credit card issuer among the private sector bank with around 8.5 million cards, has informed its customers that they might have to provide their identity proof at merchant outlets (or stores) in case do purchasing of big amount using credit card.
Although most banks have directed merchants to check the identity proof when a customer makes high-value payment with credit card in order to prevent fraudulent transactions but some of them have taken this responsibility on themselves. For instance Praveen Bansal, deputy general manager, transaction banking department, state owned bank Union Bank of India, told, “Written to all our credit and debit card holders to register their mobile phone numbers with the bank. For transactions over Rs500 on credit or debit cards, we send an SMS to the customer giving details of the transactions”.
However some of the customers are reluctant to produce ID card every time they do purchasing of high-value with credit cards but most of them have realized that this measure will protect their money, too.
Ravi Prakash Jha, store manager at an outlet of The Mobile Store in Mumbai, a chain that sells wireless phones and accessories said, “We ask for an identity proof from people who make purchases of Rs7,000 and above on their credit or debit cards”. “Consumers are hesitant to show their identity proof, but they are cooperating with us because we tell them that this process will help prevent misuse of their cards.”
Although some of the consumers agree, with the usefulness of the ID measures. Sandeep Tiwari, an accounts manager with a real estate developer who was asked for an ID proof when he bought a Nokia phone for Rs8,000 at The Mobile Store told, “It’s a good way to prevent misuse of cards and avoid fraudulent transaction, but I feel that this is not a foolproof plan because it’s very easy for fraudsters to forge identity proof such as driving license, and they can still misuse the card”.
However there is variation in the definition of high-value transactions across banks and merchant establishments. According to anonymous official working with a payments processing company, “a customer will have to provide an identity proof for purchases of Rs7,500 and above at a jewellery store, purchases of over Rs5,000 at a mobile store and purchases of over Rs8,000 at an electronic showroom”.
C.S. Jain, executive director, head of personal banking group, IDBI Bank informed IDBI Bank Ltd, for instance, has directed merchant outlets to check the ID proof of the card users doing purchasing of worth exceeding Rs10,000. “IDBI Bank debit card holders receive SMS alerts for any transaction over Rs10,000. These are the steps the bank takes to check frauds.”
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data provide in July bulletin in India by 31 May, there are around 48.42 million credit cards users with a total outstanding amount of Rs9,748.31 crore. Whereas by the end of May there are around 283.58 million debit card users in the country, and the spending on debit cards amounted to Rs3,665.91 crore, according to the central bank’s figures.
The senior official from a payments processing company quoted in the first instance, “The fraud to sales ratio in India is at 0.12 which means of every Rs100 spent 12 paise is lost”. “The fraud ratio is not alarming. It has been stable at around 0.12 for the past two-three years, but to ensure it remains low, we have introduced this best practice.”
A senior official with Axis Bank Ltd has 600,000 credit cards and 125,000 point-of-sale (PoS) terminals informed, “Fraudsters usually rob cards and make purchases of electronic items and jewellery as they have resale value.” PoS terminals are machines that read credit or debit card information and approve or reject a transaction.
An anonymous person said, “Frauds are also rampant at curio shops, which are largely visited by tourists. Certain cities like Agra, Coimbatore and Chennai are places where card frauds are rampant”.
In February, then minister of state for home affairs Shakeel Ahmad had informed the Lok Sabha that between April and December 2008, ICICI Bank had informed the RBI about 8,280 cases of credit card fraud worth Rs11.47 crore.
While American Express Banking Corp. accounted 703 cases due to which it faced a loss of about Rs6.04 crore and on the other hand 2,484 cases of fraud were reported by Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) due to which it faced a loss of Rs4.90 crore, Ahmad told Parliament. The other foreign banks which also listed the loss were Citibank incurred losses of Rs4.73 crore, Standard Chartered Bank, reported Rs2.39 crore and Deutsche Bank, Rs2.09 crore, all during the same period.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Credit card reward programs becoming less attractive
Now day’s banks at the time of issuing credit cards are taking cautions and mostly issuing premium category credit cards to the premium segment of the society in order to come out of huge credit losses. Similarly banks are also planning to cut down the rewards they give to credit card holders to reduce credit losses. Therefore banks are making it more expensive and giving less attractive gifts on redemption of reward points. It is believed this can further get worse ahead of possible legislation to reduce so-called interchange rates, the fees banks charge to merchants.
Analysts’ points out banks use income from the fees to finance their rewards, thus any reduction in those charges will cut loyalty programs. This means the customers will have to use their cards frequently to earn the points. Last year the banks increased interchange fees to 14 percent to about $48 billion, ranging from 1.6 percent to more than two percent of total purchases.
In recent years credit card companies like American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup had earned hefty profits due to an explosion in credit, but now they are running in lose in billions as debt-burdened Americans lose jobs and default on loan payments. According to analysts credit card industry will only be able to make firm standing by 2011.
Previously in this year, Citigroup customized its “Thank You” rewards program in which many more points were required to redeem the reward. While JPMorgan, had limited the spending categories in which customers received cash back on Chase Freedom cards. According to analysts American Express flagship Membership Rewards program is like a magnet for customers in case any cut done in the program can lower the customer’s interest in the company’s cards and upset revenue earned. As most of the global banks are making ways for the new reward systems hence Indian banks might soon follow the suit.
Analysts’ points out banks use income from the fees to finance their rewards, thus any reduction in those charges will cut loyalty programs. This means the customers will have to use their cards frequently to earn the points. Last year the banks increased interchange fees to 14 percent to about $48 billion, ranging from 1.6 percent to more than two percent of total purchases.
In recent years credit card companies like American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup had earned hefty profits due to an explosion in credit, but now they are running in lose in billions as debt-burdened Americans lose jobs and default on loan payments. According to analysts credit card industry will only be able to make firm standing by 2011.
Previously in this year, Citigroup customized its “Thank You” rewards program in which many more points were required to redeem the reward. While JPMorgan, had limited the spending categories in which customers received cash back on Chase Freedom cards. According to analysts American Express flagship Membership Rewards program is like a magnet for customers in case any cut done in the program can lower the customer’s interest in the company’s cards and upset revenue earned. As most of the global banks are making ways for the new reward systems hence Indian banks might soon follow the suit.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
HSBC directed to pay penalty for not refunding balance on deactivation of credit card
The HSBC has been directed to pay penalty of Rs 2,250 to a complainant for closing his credit card account without refunding him the due balance. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has also instructed the bank to pay Rs 1,100 as litigation costs.
The complainant, Narender Rana, a resident of Sector 35, got the credit card from the bank and was renewed in July 2008 with a limit of Rs 21,000 and expiry date was of August 2011.
He alleged that the renewed card never became operational and the bank closed the account, without giving any reasons
The complainant also informed that he had used his credit card for booking a flight ticket from Chandigarh to Delhi on April 25, 2008 (before the renewal of the card) and had paid Rs 2,379 for it. As the flight was cancelled, the Airlines gave a refund of Rs 2,250 was to the credit card account of the complainant, which could not be added to his account as his card was not operational.
He got up set therefore he moved the consumer forum.
In its reply, the bank stated Rana had never been a fervent user of the card and that he scarcely made transactions with the card.
The bank said the complainant was already informed that if the said card was not used for any transaction up to June 30, 2008, it would be closed. As the complainant did not use the card within the set period, his card account was closed and a letter was duly sent to him vide dated May 29, 2008.
Also, Rana was asked to contact the bank officer for the withdrawal of the amount lying in his credit card account, but he never turned up to meet the concerned official, maintained the bank.
But the forum, said at the time of deactivating the card, the bank should have immediately refunded the said amount of Rs 2,250.
The complainant, Narender Rana, a resident of Sector 35, got the credit card from the bank and was renewed in July 2008 with a limit of Rs 21,000 and expiry date was of August 2011.
He alleged that the renewed card never became operational and the bank closed the account, without giving any reasons
The complainant also informed that he had used his credit card for booking a flight ticket from Chandigarh to Delhi on April 25, 2008 (before the renewal of the card) and had paid Rs 2,379 for it. As the flight was cancelled, the Airlines gave a refund of Rs 2,250 was to the credit card account of the complainant, which could not be added to his account as his card was not operational.
He got up set therefore he moved the consumer forum.
In its reply, the bank stated Rana had never been a fervent user of the card and that he scarcely made transactions with the card.
The bank said the complainant was already informed that if the said card was not used for any transaction up to June 30, 2008, it would be closed. As the complainant did not use the card within the set period, his card account was closed and a letter was duly sent to him vide dated May 29, 2008.
Also, Rana was asked to contact the bank officer for the withdrawal of the amount lying in his credit card account, but he never turned up to meet the concerned official, maintained the bank.
But the forum, said at the time of deactivating the card, the bank should have immediately refunded the said amount of Rs 2,250.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Four persons of well-to-do families arrested for credit card racket
With the arrest of four persons the special detection squad of superintendent of police headed by PSI Prakash attached to Mangalore Rural police station has been able to break through credit card racket. Among the four arrested persons the police have arrested the district NSUI president Tejaswi Rai. on October 19, 2008 the accused had purchased five mobile phones worth Rs 1.01 lakh from Span Telecom using fake credit cards.
The four accused are Tejaswi Raj (27) of Hat Hill, Lady Hill, Mangalore, Muhammad Riyas (25) of Melkar in Bantwal taluk, Abdul Majid (34) of Attavar, Mangalore and Sajid of Farnagipete, Mangalore, all from the well-to-do families. Riyas is the son of a forest department official; Majid is a partner in a gold jewellery firm, and Raj the district head of NSUI. The four accused were arrested while they were traveling in a car near Mahavir Circle on the outskirts of the city, and handed over to jurisdictional Mangalore South police station personnel.
According to a released statement by the police, it has information about the accused having used fake credit cards in other places in the city as well and the same is being verified. It is believed the accused carried out credit card racket to fund their luxurious and extravagant lifestyles.
The police was able to track the accused by a close examination of the video records, recorded in the closed circuit television camera installed at mobile stores when they did purchasing of mobile phones using fake credit cards. Prakash informed police is looking for more persons suspected to be involved in this racket and efforts are being made to arrest them. Meantime the four accused have been remanded to police custody up to July 3.
The four accused are Tejaswi Raj (27) of Hat Hill, Lady Hill, Mangalore, Muhammad Riyas (25) of Melkar in Bantwal taluk, Abdul Majid (34) of Attavar, Mangalore and Sajid of Farnagipete, Mangalore, all from the well-to-do families. Riyas is the son of a forest department official; Majid is a partner in a gold jewellery firm, and Raj the district head of NSUI. The four accused were arrested while they were traveling in a car near Mahavir Circle on the outskirts of the city, and handed over to jurisdictional Mangalore South police station personnel.
According to a released statement by the police, it has information about the accused having used fake credit cards in other places in the city as well and the same is being verified. It is believed the accused carried out credit card racket to fund their luxurious and extravagant lifestyles.
The police was able to track the accused by a close examination of the video records, recorded in the closed circuit television camera installed at mobile stores when they did purchasing of mobile phones using fake credit cards. Prakash informed police is looking for more persons suspected to be involved in this racket and efforts are being made to arrest them. Meantime the four accused have been remanded to police custody up to July 3.
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