AmEx to partner with domestic players

A well known name in the credit card sector and a leading US based lender American Express is now planning to make the most out of the Indian market. In order to boost its presence in the Indian market it is looking forward to partner with local financial players.

The Chief Executive Officer with American Express Banking Corp, Mr. Shailesh Baidwan said "We are looking at two or three partnerships this year particularly in the eastern region."

Moving along the plan the bank has recently partnered with public sector lender, Indian Overseas Bank and will offer Gold and Platinum cards, the cards will be made available at the braches of the bank in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

Mr. Shailesh Bamidwan also said "We already have a different partnership model... With Kingfisher we offer a co-branded card. But with the partnerships what we look for is to have a strong presence... We are looking at partnerships which will expand our presence (in the country)."

Axis Bank comes up with prepaid card for youth

Leading private sector lender, Axis Bank has come up with a scheme focused on the youth. The bank has christened the scheme as MY MONEY CARD.

The card is bases o0n VISA platform basically aims at the children staying away from their parents. It is a reloadable credit card and can be used by the youth to meet various financial requirements as this card can be used for cash withdrawals from ATMs and also for shopping.

Parents can transfer money to the card and the card is ready for use. Axis Bank through an issue stated that "The MY MONEY CARD is designed to meet the banking/ payment needs of the youth. It is an excellent tool to make today's youth financially responsible by making them aware of their expenses and inculcating a habit of spending wisely. The card also gives parents the opportunity to track their wards' spends and a convenient mode of disbursement of funds."

The Axis Bank President and retail Banking Head Mr. R K Bammi said "Axis Bank is the leader in the prepaid cards business and is currently offering a bouquet of innovative rupee-denominated prepaid cards to customers for different payment needs. Axis Bank is committed to being a total solutions bank and the MY MONEY CARD is another step in that direction".

SBI and Axis bank competing to grab Barclays’ card biz

In a bid to expand their credit card wing, the largest lender in the country, State Bank of India and the leading private sector lender, Axis Bank are in a bid to bag the credit card business of Barclays in India. The deal is believed top get finalized within next one and a half month.

The Managing Director and country head of Barclays Corporate, Mr. Karan Bhagat said “We are evaluating the various options and will choose the route which serves the interest of our stakeholders.”

SBI is overwhelmed by the profit that it has gained in its credit card sections after continuous loss in the previous years. However, both the lenders were also in the race to grab the credit card business of Deutsche Bank in India but had to suffer a major setback when Induslnd Bank went away with the deal.

An analyst from a domestic brokerage firm said “Banks have again become active in the credit card space as growth outlook for the Indian economy is bright. Since Barclays has decided to sell its performing portfolio, it minimizes the default risk. Institutions that bid for Deutsche Bank’s cards business but were not successful would be interested. They may not mind paying a little premium.”