icici india credit card

If you are getting fewer pesky calls offering you credit cards, here is why.

Banks are going slow on the sale of credit cards as rising interests and inflation have made many customers miss payment deadlines, and, in some cases, even default.

Payment irregularities among customers "have been on the rise for nine to 12 months because of over-leveraging and rising interest rates," said Parag Rao, head, credit cards, HDFC Bank.

In the past two quarters, most banks have raised the monthly interest rate on credit cards by half a percentage point, pushing up repayment liabilities.

"The growth of new cards has been slow for six months," said Sachin Khandelwal, head, card services at ICICI Bank. He refused to give any figure, but an executive at a private bank, on condition of anonymity, said growth of new cards has dipped by 50 per cent from last year. See all the latest updates for icici credit card to decide which card to apply.

There are fewer cards on offer and, banks have strict eligibility norms. "Most banks have tightened credit screens to get new customers," said Khandelwal.

Banks are relying on the Credit Bureau, which provides credit records of people who have borrowed from financial institutions, said Subrat Pani, business head - cards, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Banks are also identifying groups vulnerable to defaulting, Pani said. Some banks, for instance, are now reluctant to issue cards to those below 27 working in BPOs. This blacklist includes politicians, cops, journalists and lawyers.

Call it the aftershocks of the US sub-prime lending crisis. Banks across the board are reportedly going slow on the credit card businesses in tier-I and tier-II cities owing to a quantum jump in default cases during the last six months.

A senior banker told Sunday ET that the fear of failure to pay debts is leading to card holders and collection agents colluding to misuse credit cards in non-metro cities. "We recently had a case where one of our collection team agent was hand-in-glove with a card holder. It was an eye-opener in more ways than one," the banker said.

To put a check on the rising consumer defaults, Indian credit card companies are now not only becoming stringent with card issuance but also reducing credit limits for card holders with high debt burden. Credit card firms are now resorting to newer avenues - such as reducing credit-free limit period from 52 to 48 days and levying a fee on cash payments at bank branches for credit card dues - to recover the transaction costs. Banks are now even making reminder calls (a week before the due date) to their card holders - in case the due amount is a significant sum - to make sure that the default numbers don't rise anymore.

Here is how the collection agents and card holders gang up.

For instance, Mr A (card holder) dumped multiple credit cards after utilising the credit limits, with the help of Mr B (a senior collection official) whom he paid a proportional sum of credit card limit. Mr B, on his part, rescued him by sitting on the fraud case, and eventually closing the case mentioning no breakthrough.

This is primarily the reason why the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) figures on the credit card industry doesn't spring any surprise. The credit card outstandings have shot up by a whopping 87% at Rs 26,596 crore, during the January-May 23 period this year, from Rs 12,375 in the year-ago period.An industry analyst blamed the banks for the current state of affairs.

"The eagerness to grow business at a fast pace is now backfiring on them. The profitability of the credit card business depends on the right ticket size and the average spends. There is a transaction cost involved with the whole retail experience. Monthly statements, collection costs, and other costs are high in case of credit cards. Initially, the banks strategy was to increase volumes, rather than focus on ticket size. Thus, individuals of small ticket size were issued credit cards, and average spends resulting were smaller than expected," the analyst said.

The analyst expects the problems of credit card companies to grow with strong likelihood of increased customer defaults in future. "Rising inflation, volatile markets, and skyrocketing crude oil prices have only grown concerns of increased credit card defaults that could dampen the industry earnings," the analyst pointed out.

Shameek Bhargava, director & head of cards - Asia-Pacific, Deutsche Bank, told Sunday ET that the rise in defaults is not surprising, and they had anticipated it. "We saw it coming. The industry was bound to witness higher delinquencies in Deutsche credit cards, as some banks were putting tremendous pressure on their sales executives by setting atrocious sales targets. We, however, are not affected majorly and our risk costs are far better than other banks, as we have always focused on the segment where the risk-adjustment deal makes sense," he said. At present, the German bank doesn't have a branch operating in tier-II and tier-III cities in India.

With the businesses on a downturn owing to the overall economic slowdown, Bhargava defends the move by banks to levy charges on cash payments at bank branches for credit card dues.

"We are following an industry trend. We have provided customers with different types of payment options, like dropboxes, which we would like them to use." According to Sachin Khandelwal - head of cards group, ICICI Bank, the latest steps have been taken by the bank to improve their cost-benefit ratio, as they have invested a considerable sum for providing their customers with an e-platform. "There is a very small percentage of card holders who pay in cash. We want to encourage transactions via electronic systems and the auto debit facility, which is not only paper-less but also less time-consuming," he said.

The bank recently introduced a charge of Rs 100 for paying credit card bills in cash with effect from June 1, 2008. The levy on paying credit card bills in cash at a bank branch, feels a HDFC bank official, is a step in the right direction for the industry. "This will encourage customers to use the online platform, which is the future and have been put in place for their convenience. " the official said.

A man dearly paid with Rs 30,000 when cheats replaced his original credit card with a fake one and went on a shopping spree before being caught by police in Rohini. Those arrested were identified as Vipin, Hazari and Ghanshayam, aged between 25 and 30.

The police arrested them on July 23. On June 27, the victim Adarsh Khanna had applied for a credit card to Kotak Mahindra Bank.

"Later a man, posing as a bank representative, who identified himself as Arun, came to meet him. He took Khanna's icici platinum card to take an impression of it. He replaced it with another credit card deceptively. Khanna soon realised this and called the customer service to block the card, but it nearly took three hours and by that time the accused person had indulged in shopping worth Rs 30,000," said DCP (Outer) Sagarpreet Hooda.

Meanwhile, Khanna received a call from one Nitin, who claimed to have been calling from Kotak Mahindra Bank, and inquired whether his executive had verified documents.

When Khanna narrated the incident to him, he said that he would ask his executive to come back and return the card, but nothing happened and Nitin's mobile phone was later found to be switched off.

The police learnt that the accused had bought two mobile phones and shirts from a mall in Inderlok. They stopped using their mobile phone and even left their rented accommodation.

However, police with the help of CCCTV image nabbed the three accused from Rohini and seized the credit card belonging to Khanna. The goods purchased with the help of credit card too were seized from them.

ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank today announced the launch of the ICICI Bank Platinum Identity Credit Card. The 'Platinum Identity' credit card offers a high value proposition, as it brings together shopping, travel and golfing privileges with a powerful rewards program and differentiated service benefits. The card targets the discerning and affluent set of customers who wish to experience the privileges that are offered to the global cardholder.

Mr. Sachin Khandelwal, Head-Cards Product Group, ICICI Bank said, "This card is launched keeping in mind the fact that our customers have matured and demanding more exclusive offers. We will offer our customers value and privileges that are, the best in the industry. Keeping in line with the changing lifestyle of our customers, the 'Platinum Identity' product has been designed to make cardholders feel truly special as well as to meet their evolved needs specially related to travel and lifestyle. This is a global offering at a truly competitive price point."

The card offers privileges like accelerated rewards program, exclusive rewards catalogue, a powerful air mile conversion option and travel benefits which include Rs 1 crore air accident insurance and complete fuel surcharge waiver across pumps. There is also a full-fledged concierge service, 'i-Assist' to address the lifestyle needs of the cardholders.

The Platinum Identity Credit Card offers the following features:

- Welcome privileges - Golf Fee Card with two year membership and Priority Pass
- Accelerated rewards earn - double reward points on international spends, fast-forward earning through the powerful Xpress Rewards program
- Exclusive rewards redemption catalogue 'Hand-picked Rewards' featuring premium brands
- Superior air mile conversion program - Convert your reward points into air miles
- Comprehensive air accident insurance of Rs. 1 crore
- Complete waiver of fuel surcharge
- 'Specials' -Exclusive offers in lifestyle categories
- 'i-Assist' - A round-the-clock, complimentary service that provides assistance with travel and restaurant reservations, gift arrangements, event tickets, and more.

What's the first thing you should do if you lose your credit card? Just call up the bank's 24 hour call centre and deactivate the card. This should take precedence even over your attempt to track your wallet in the lost trail.

This is because very few banks in India offer protection against fraudulent use of credit cards. Of course, you can breathe a little easy if your bank insures your lost card from any misuse.

Standard Chartered Bank, for instance, has tied up with Tata AIG General Insurance Company to launch the 'Plus Extended Protection Plan' last week. This product, which has to be bought separately, will cover the card customers from any possible fraudulent use of the cards prior to reporting the loss. "We receive several lost card reports in a month. The product will ensure protection to our customers against any fraudulent use," said RL Prasad, general manager, Credit Cards and Personal loans, Standard Chartered Bank. Hey have you checked interest rates and great cashback offers on icici credit card if not then visit here to get aware of different credit cards offered at ICICI Bank.

The insurance cover will reimburse (up to Rs 50,000) per fraudulent transaction up to 12 hours prior to the customer reporting the loss to the bank. Also, the bank has extended this cover to all debit and credit cards. Similarly, even ABN Amro Bank offers this cover with a total coverage of Rs 2,000-Rs 5,000 at a monthly premium of Rs 100.
In case of SBI Cards, the credit card company caps the liability to a maximum of Rs 1,000 for non-gold cards once it receives a proper notification of the loss by the customer. The gold card customers enjoy zero liability once they notify the bank authorities.

Among the other leading credit card players, Citibank is still mulling the idea of offering a similar protection. ICICI Bank, however, doesn't offer any such cover. Says Sachin Khandelwal, Head - Cards Product Group of ICICI Bank: "This cover is not very useful. We send mobile alerts whenever customers swipe in excess of Rs 2,000. That would help them keep a tab on all cards."

HDFC Bank offers an insurance cover, which covers the customer from fraudulent transactions for up to 24 hours. Moreover, the cover comes free of cost. But you have to also file an FIR to hedge against these frauds. "For claiming insurance on any fraudulent transaction, you have to file an FIR with the police. Then you have to furnish the FIR along with credit card details to file a claim. Once the claim gets validated, it compensates for the fraudulent transaction, says Parag Rao, executive vice president - product, portfolio management and cards, HDFC Bank.
So, if the credit card company doesn't offer any protection, then it holds the customer liable for any fraudulent transaction. You have to report the loss of the card immediately if you want to play safe. Once the customer communicates to the bank in telephone/writing the customer continues to enjoy zero liability on their lost cards. This means you don't have pay a single penny if your credit card is stolen and has been subjected to fraudulent practices.

In the US, the maximum liability on the customer is capped at $50 per credit card. As the days pass by, this liability increases to $100 for the second day and $500 for the third day. If you don't file a complaint with the bank for more than 60 days, then the customer is liable for every fraudulent transaction. However, the possibility of the customer being unaware of the loss for 2 months is very less, say experts.

This is an optional cover. But if your bank offers the cover to protect the lost card against fraudulent use, it is definitely not a bad idea. You will be spending a monthly amount of Rs 100 for saving a credit limit of may be a lakh from being misused. But most big banks are yet to offer this insurance cover. If it still pops out of the wallet, make a quick call and deactivate it. Follow the call with a written complaint and post it to the credit card company.

The monthly credit card statement that comes laden with lots of offers, gift coupons and summer deals at this time of the year would normally not have got more than a casual glance from Mr K. Nath. But something caught his attention this time.

There was an unobtrusive line at the bottom of the statement that conveyed that his card company (ICICI Bank which has one third share of the market) had increased its interest rates. The statement said that the rate of interest on "extended credit and cash advances" was being increased from the current 3.15 per cent per month (45.09 pc per annum) to 3.40 per cent per month (49.36 per cent annualised) effective from June 1, 2008. That's a symptom that something is just not right with the credit card industry. Now you may check cashback offers and reward points of icici credit card easily without any service charges.

Hiking rates in an industry already known for high rates is a sure sign of troubled times. Most card companies charge around 2.7 per cent to 2.9 per cent per month or about 36 per cent per annum. Even this has been criticised as being a touch usurious.

For years now, there has been a continuous clamour for lower interest rates on credit card spending. That's something that card companies have resisted, citing high default rates thanks to a combination of poor laws, the lack of any security and the general climate of bad borrower behaviour.

Default rates across the card industry that were in the 5-7 per cent range are now double that, says Shameek Bhargava, Managing Director, Head of Cards, Asia Pacific, Deutsche Bank, India.

A credit card official who did not want to be named said, "About 80 per cent of due diligence is being done on their own by all major banks. A verification of data from CIBIL is being taken up on an optional basis. CIBIL may become popular only three to five years from now going by the present use."

Meanwhile, there is little hope of any immediate improvement. Credit Rating agency Crisil had forecast earlier this year that the NPA situation in personal loans would worsen this fiscal. Credit card holders, brace up.

A Pydhonie-based businessman who supplies caps to Mumbai police became the latest victim of online credit fraud. Some miscreants allegedly misused his ICICI credit card and duped him of Rs24,770 by purchasing online airline tickets.

Asif Iqbal Topiwala, 37, of Topiwala & Sons, said, "I was at home with my family on April 28 when I received two messages from ICICI bank at 2.26 pm and 2.27 pm respectively stating 'you have made a transaction of Rs11,600 to purchase online airlines tickets' and 'you have made a transaction of Rs13,170 to purchase online airlines tickets'. I was shocked since I did not buy any tickets by using my credit card."

After receiving the messages, Topiwala immediately contacted the customer care centre of ICICI Bank. "I was told that I had purchased eight Deccan Airlines tickets to Bangalore for May 1. I immediately asked the bank to block my credit card and also sent a mail to the airlines to help me track down the culprits. I then lodged a complaint at Pydhonie police station," he said.

Investigating officer Kailash Bondre said "After receiving the complaint, we laid a trap at Santa Cruz domestic airport and arrested one Mohd Asif Abdul Aziz Mudrawala, 35, with his seven family members."

During questioning Mudrawala told the police that he had purchased the tickets for Rs16,000 from Javed Habib Kasmani of National Travels at Pydhonie.

Kasmani was arrested for fraud and remanded in police custody till May 23 by the court. The police are, however, on the lookout for his travel agent friend Raju who allegedly booked the tickets.

Mumbai Police will quiz Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to unravel the mystery of his missing credit card, which was recently found with three people who used it to buy branded apparel worth Rs.25,000.

According to Mulund police station senior police inspector Prakash Landge, the police have also sought the statements of all the transactions on Shah Rukh's card in the past few weeks to ascertain whether more fraudulent transactions have taken place.

"We are likely to get the statements from ICICI Bank within a day or two which will help the investigations. Also, Shah Rukh, who is abroad and returning early next week, has promised to co-operate with us in the matter," Landge told IANS. Last week, three Mumbai men indulged in a furious buying spree at a mega mall - Nirmal Lifestyle in Mulund, a suburb in northwest Mumbai - on a ICICI Bank credit card, which was later detected and confirmed as Khan's missing card, Landge said.

An alert sales executive noticed that though the name on the transaction slip was Shah Rukh's, it was signed by one of the youths, Vinay Vijay Tambe (22), a resident of Bhandup. He and James Paul Perumal (28) of Kanjurmarg and Shekhar Jadhav (44) of Bhandup had together bought branded apparel worth over Rs.25,000 from Shoppers Stop at the mall.

The sales executive immediately called the bank to verify the card's authenticity. He also informed the police.

Police reached the mall post haste and nabbed the trio. A local court has remanded them to police custody till Monday.

Landge said that the card belonged to Khan and it was still not clear whether he lost it or it was stolen. The arrested men claimed to have found it in a bag on the road in Santacruz Feb 7.

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Future Capital Holdings Ltd., the financial services arm of the Future Group, was fully subscribed on the first day itself. As of 4 p.m. on Friday, the public issue was subscribed about 3.7 times. The company received bids for 23.68mn shares as against the issue size of 6.42mn shares.

Most of the bids came in from the QIBs, with this portion of the issue getting subscribed by nearly 5.8 times. The HNI portion hardly saw any action while retail was subscribed 0.7 times.

The issue will close for subscription on January 16. The IPO would constitute 10.16% of the post-issue paid-up capital of the company.

Future Capital was incorporated in 2005 and promoted by Pantaloon Retail India, the flagship company of the Future Group, its founder Chairman Kishore Biyani, and Sameer Sain (former MD of Goldman Sachs in India). One of the investors in the company is Och-Ziff, a prominent international hedge fund.

The company's three primary lines of business are investment advisory services, retail financial services and research. In June 2007, Future Capital launched its retail financial services offering - Future Money.

The company has the exclusive right to provide financial products and services at present and future malls, stores and retail outlets which are owned, controlled or managed by Pantaloon Retail and its subsidiaries.

Presently, it has 95 Future Money outlets located in 26 cities across India, most of which are located within the retail stores of Pantaloon Retail and its subsidiaries.

Currently, the two main retail financial services products of Future Capital are consumption loans and personal loans.

Future Capital will also commence in the near future the distribution of financial products, including credit cards. It has entered into an agreement with ICICI Bank for marketing and distribution of the Future Card, a credit card offering loyalty points. Here's the all news icici future credit card just check out the offers.

The judiciary has again pulled up ICICI Bank for the misadventures of its loan recovery agents and asked the bank to pay Rs.25,000 as special cost. Prema Devi, who took a vehicle loan from the ICICI Bank's civil lines branch at Allahabad, has petitioned the court to get her vehicle paper released.

She told the courts that though, she had paid all the installments to the bank on time, the bank has demanded two more installments. The division bench of Justice V M Sahai and Bharti Sapru took strong exception of the use of goonda elements for recovery practices and ordered the bank to pay Rs. 25,000 to Prema Devi for the mental torture she had undergone during the entire episode.

Earlier also in a similar looking case, which also involved the ICICI Bank's recovery agents, a 75-year-old widow Prakash Kaur from Kanpur complained about the bank sending goondas to recover dues from her. She had also taken a truck loan from the bank and paid 33 installments on time but had defaulted only in the payment of the last installment. The agents later forcibly took away her truck. The Allahabad High Court had ordered registration of an FIR against ICICI Bank branch manager, President, Chairman and Managing Director.

source: Rupee Times

ICICI Bank has lauched a credit card designed solely for travel related activities like airline ticket reservations, hotel bookings, travel insurance and other allied transactions. Called the ICICI Bank Travel Agency Credit Card, this is pioneering initiative in this area by the bank.

To commemorate the launch of this credit card, Singapore Airlines, one of the leading airlines of the world, which has recently included the Airbus A380 into its fleet has launched a special fare. Under this offer, a return ticket to Singapore inclusive of all taxes and surcharges will be available for a special price of Rs. 15,500. These air tickets will be on sale from today and last up to January 31, 2008.

India's second-largest bank, ICICI Bank, is aiming for growth of 30 to 35 percent over the next three years as strong economic growth underpins investment and corporate loan demand, its joint managing director said.

A $4.9 billion share sale this year -- the country's largest -- was sufficient to help meet that growth target, so the bank did not plan a return to the equity markets, said Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank's joint managing director and chief financial officer.

Still, ICICI, which braved jittery bond markets in September to raise $2 billion, will keep tapping global debt markets to fund lending, she told the Reuters India Investment Summit.

A Malaysian national was arrested on Sunday evening from M Block Market in Greater Kailash for allegedly using a fake credit card for shopping.

According to the police, Tseng Tak Weik (37) along with one Jackie visited the showroom of Tag Heuer watches at M-44 in GK-I on Sunday evening for fraudulently purchasing a wrist watch worth Rs 88,000 using a forged credit card of HSBC bank. But the machine declined to accept the card, as it had been put on alert by the bank.

The shop owner immediately informed the police. While Weik was arrested, his associates managed to flee. Five more forged credit cards of ICICI, Standard Charted and City Bank, and a Malaysian passport were recovered from him, said the police.

ICICI Bank, India's second largest bank today conducted its first training workshop for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for using the SME Toolkit effectively. The workshop was a curtain raiser for the classroom training initiative that ICICI Bank along with Institute of Management Studies (IMS) has developed for SMEs. The SMEs will need to register themselves with IMS for complete classroom training.

ICICI credit cards now offers you the bunch of beneficial discounts which helps you to make your shopping a real entertainer.

The participating SMEs will be trained to use the new version of the SME Toolkit, a free online resource to help small businesses improve their management practices and to understand the business regulatory environment, launched jointly by IFC, ICICI Bank, and IBM in August 2007. ICICI Bank's focus is on localization of the SME Toolkit content and tools. The latest software version, of the SME Toolkit, Web 2.0, includes live chat, online forums, and interactive business directories that create a global community where smaller businesses can interact and collaborate.

Read more about how to buy carbon credits online.

Even as Kishore Biyani's Future Capital Holdings (FCH) awaits approval from Sebi on its proposed initial public offering, the company has got the nod from RBI for its credit card venture.

The financial services arm of the Future group has tied up with the country's largest private sector bank - ICICI Bank - to launch Future Card, a credit-cum-loyalty card which will offer customers a slew of discounts and benefits across Future Group stores.

Customers will receive four loyalty points for every Rs 100 spent at Future group's retail stores, including Pantaloons, Central, Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar and one loyalty point for every Rs 200 spent outside the group's retail stores.

Private lender ICICI Bank on Monday announced a special discount on purchase of gold coins though debit and credit cards.

The offer includes discounts of Rs 200 on 5 gms gold coin and Rs 300 on purchase of 8 gms coin, ICICI Bank said in a release.

The offer, which is valid till December 31, will also include Rs 750 and Rs 1,500 discount on purchase of 20 gms and 50 gms gold coins respectively.

The bank began retailing of gold coins as an investment and gifting option in 2003.

Know more about carbon credits and online carbon credits.

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch claims to have busted a gang of cons who allegedly duped seven banks in the city, including two multinationals, of huge sums by making credit card transactions for non-existent sales at three shops.

"The accused used a unique modus operandi to dupe seven banks-ICICI, Centurion Bank of Punjab, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Deutsche Bank and Barclays Bank. While the total amount involved is yet to be ascertained, we know that in just three months the arrested accused defrauded ICICI Bank to the tune of Rs 20 lakh," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria.

Sprucing up the festival of lights this year, BIG 92.7 FM and ICICI Bank Credit Card have joined hands to offer a volley of Diwali surprises especially gift-wrapped for its listeners to make this year's festive shopping the BIGgest yet the most economical affair for them.

Living up to its Kekkalam pesalam life kondadalam! brand line, BIG 92.7 FM along with ICICI Bank Credit Card is proffering Maximum Celebration - Maga Mega Diwali - that will shower discounts ranging from 9.27 to a whopping 92.7 per cent on various product categories ranging from FMCG, Automobiles, Consumer Durables, Gadgets, Furnishings, Jewellery and Fashion Wear to name a few. The discounts, in the form of Coupons and vouchers, shall be given out to the winners of interesting on-air sound games to be played with the listeners from 7 am to 9 pm beginning October 21 till November 9 (Diwali). Listeners have to simply call the IVR number from their mobile/landline phones to participate (refer note below for details), or sms DIWALI to 55454 for details.

The Maga Mega Diwali plan is a unique programming format has been exclusively designed to enable
BIG 92.7 FM listeners grab attractive discounts and save hugely on their Diwali shopping.

ICICI Bank and Forum Mall, promoted by Bangalore-based Prestige Group, have launched 'ICICI Bank Forum' credit card.

According to Sachin Khandelwal head-cards group, ICICI Bank, "The tie-up with Forum Mall is another step towards introducing the most relevant products to our customers. It has been our constant endeavor to provide our customers with a choice so as to enable them to pick-up the best suited card, as well as providing a privileged status to ICICI Bank customers for every purchase that they make."

Launching the card, Irfan Razack, chairman and managing director, Prestige Group, said "the credit card will offer a gamut of benefits such as attractive reward points and special privileges on tickets in addition to the standard features of the ICICI Bank credit card".

'ICICI Bank Forum' credit card is launched on the Visa platform, ICICI Bank Forum co-branded card, will allow the cardholder to earn 8 reward points for every Rs 200 spent through the card at the Forum mall in Bangalore.

ICICI Bank today launched the ICICI Bank Visa Signature Credit Card in India. ICICI Bank has become the first bank in India to introduce a premium credit card, after launching Visa Signature Credit Card and this is best among the current premium offerings. This card will be available only to a select few, and unlike most other cards on offer today, will be priced.

The ICICI Bank Visa Signature Credit Card allows the card member to experience a life like no other, the Signature life. Card members can enjoy an exclusive bouquet of offers and benefits valued in excess of Rs. 50,000/- including an attractive Tag Heuer watch or travel vouchers for destination of your choice, besides a Rs. 3 crore air travel insurance cover. All this comes with a joining fee of Rs. 25,000/- and an annual subscription thereafter, of Rs. 2,500/-.

For the first time in India, the discerning Indian international traveller can look forward to a premium card that brings them a host of specials and distinctive experiential travel offerings in sync with their evolving lifestyle needs.

The ICICI Bank credit card DMA (Direct Marketing Agency) was inaugurated at the office of the Dexterous Solutions at Thavakkara Complex here on Monday by Kalamandalam Ramdas.

Maheshchandra Baliga, president of the North Malabar Chamber of Commerce, made the first application for the credit card at the function.

Anish V R, manager of ICICI Bank, North Kerala, presided over the function. Devasya Mecheri, district president of Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, and K P Sathish, president of Thavakkara Complex Shop Owners Association, offered felicitations. Earlier, Shajprashanth K A, proprietor of Dexterous Solutions, welcomed the gathering. Bhanu Vidyadharan, administrative assistant, proposed a vote of thanks.

The ICICI Bank, a leading Indian bank, Monday announced the launch of a gems and jewelry industry specific platinum credit card. The announcement was made at a seminar titled "Maximizing Opportunities: A Perspective on Relationships with Banks", held at IIJS in Mumbai.

The card, launched with the GJEPC, will have an enhanced credit line of Rs. 1.5 - 2 million ($37,000 - $49,000), which will be available at a reportedly attractive interest rate.

The card was launched jointly by Sanjay Kothari, chairman GJEPC; Vasasnt Mehta, vice chairman GJEPC; Sachin Khandelwal, senior general manager & head of the Cards Product Group of the ICICI and Sanjeev Mantri, general manager, SME Lending Portfolio Group, ICICI.

Khandelwal said that the ICICI's total lending to the sector is currently at around $1 billion, of which about 50 percent is to the retail business.

He further stated that the bank's total credit card business amounted to roughly Rs. 5 billion ($122.9 million). Of this, the share of the gem and jewelry industry was around 10-15 percent, which trails only the travel and tourism industry and is "catching up fast."

Co-branded credit cards seem to be the flavour of 2007, at least for the Indian hospitality and tourism sector in the country. Taking the lead in the Indian travel sector, Thomas Cook (I) Ltd (TCIL) has partnered with ICICI Bank to introduce a first of its kind premium card christened Thomas Cook Titanium Mastercard.

Just last month, one of India's leading hospitality chains - Sarovar Hotels & Resorts - launched a co-branded credit card offering customers up to 30% discount on room tariffs at select hotels and 15% discount at Sarovar's restaurants.

Being the front-runner in the cards industry with host of cross selling product offerings, Thomas Cook partnering with ICICI Bank for its credit card was a conscious decision, said Udayan Bose, chairman, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. "This premium credit card is powered by a host of unique features, benefits and rewards and is ideal for travellers looking for greater convenience and exclusive travel and lifestyle benefits," Bose said.

A very comprehensive travel credit card available in the Indian market, the Thomas Cook Titanium MasterCard allows cardholders to avail of benefits across all travel services and is not limited to a particular company or a service provider. Anyone using this credit card at any of Thomas Cook outlets can avail of rewards for all travel purchases including airline tickets, holiday packages, hotel bookings and travel insurance. The credit card also offers premium features and international benefits associated with Mastercard Titanium cards across the world.

TIMES Internet Ltd (TIL) and ICICI Bank have come together for a new offering that promises to make shopping on the net convenient and secure. On Monday the 'Indiatimes ICICI Bank Credit Card', with additional security features and an exclusive cash back offer, was launched.The card offers an online fraud cover of Rs 20,000.

The 1.8m customers already shopping on Indiatimes will have special access to ShopMore, a dedicated section created on the website, where special offers and discounts will reward customers shopping with the 'Indiatimes ICICI Bank Credit Card.' Offers are also available across all sections on 'Indiatimes Shopping.'

In an exclusive cash back offer, customers will enjoy a flat 5% cash back on air tickets purchased on Indiatimes and a 10% cash back on most categories on Indiatimes shopping. Discounts up to 40% are also available on various products, including audio and video, apparel, health and personal care, home, lifestyle applications, hotel bookings and on Indiatimes subscription.

With a vision to create cashless transactions, mChek India Payment Systems has tied up with Airtel for its patent-pending, on-demand mobile payments solution 'mChek/Payment' across the country.

The facility is already commercially available in the Delhi and the National Capital Region and will be launched in Gujarat and other circles eventually.

mChek, which is into mobile security and payments innovation, has tied up with Visa, Airtel, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India to allow users to link an existing phone and their existing Visa credit card issued by any Indian bank to their mobile phone.

Airtel is the first telecom operator to offer this service with the 'mChek - Anytime Anywhere Bill Payment'.

India's credit bureau, set up by Citigroup Inc., ICICI Bank Ltd. and other lenders, will begin grading 100 million borrowers from November to help banks curb defaults and creditworthy customers pay lower interest rates.

The Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd. will evaluate ages, salaries and existing loans to assign individual ratings, Chairman S. Santhanakrishnan said. Multiple applications or using one credit card to repay another will result in lower grades and higher borrowing costs, he said.

Mounting losses on loans made to people with poor credit at U.S. lenders have roiled markets in the past month, underlining the need for banks to evaluate risk. A nationwide database will help Indian banks reduce loans to risky borrowers before the impact of seven interest rate rises in two years increases defaults, according to the Indian unit of Standard & Poor's.

Another 60-year-old Mumbai consumer received a call to confirm whether she had paid Rs 26,000 with her debit card at a jewellery shop.

As card frauds increase, banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Card, Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank are tightening their risk management systems, which track and sniff out suspicious debit and credit card transactions.

Such a system is designed to highlight any transaction that is out of character with the cardholder's card usage pattern.

In such a scenario, the consumer can expect a call or an SMS to verify whether the transaction is valid. Most calls are made within 24 hours of a suspected-and especially high-value-transaction.

TIMES Internet Ltd (TIL) and ICICI Bank have come together for a new offering that promises to make shopping on the net convenient and secure. On Monday the 'Indiatimes ICICI Bank Credit Card', with additional security features and an exclusive cash back offer, was launched.The card offers an online fraud cover of Rs 20,000.

The 1.8m customers already shopping on Indiatimes will have special access to ShopMore, a dedicated section created on the website, where special offers and discounts will reward customers shopping with the 'Indiatimes ICICI Bank Credit Card.' Offers are also available across all sections on 'Indiatimes Shopping.'

The country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank is planning to expand its credit card business to another 50 cities and expects 20-25 per cent increase in business during the current fiscal.

"We already have presence in 125 cities and plans to spread our footprint to another 50 cities this year," ICICI Bank Head (credit cards product group) Sachin Khandelwal told media.

The wide presence will not only grow the card business but will act as a loyalty tool for retaining customers too, he said.

Besides, it helps in attracting new customers for the bank, he added.

By far, ICICI is the market leader in the credit card business with 85 lakh credit card floating in the market against the total market size of 2.3 crore.

To attract more credit card spending, ICICI Bank has launched an EMI Card that provides people convenience to payback their dues on a credit card purchase in equated monthly instalments on zero per cent interest.

''With credit card potential as low as eight per cent in India, we see a lot of potential in an EMI card, especially for newly-married couples who are setting up their home,'' ICICI Bank Head Cards Product Group Sachin Khandelwal said.

Through this credit card a customer could buy any household appliance like a television or a refrigerator and convert the full or partial amount in EMIs of three or six months and pay back without incurring any interest.

It is probably a unique offering and we have a thousand odd cards in circulation. The Know-Your-Customer norms are stricter in this case, Khandelwal said, adding the EMI scheme is also being offered to the banks co-branded card customers.

ICICI Bank today launched a co-branded credit card with Amway India to be offered to distributors in 62 locations.

ICICI Bank is also planning to tie up with hotels and other services companies for co-branded credit card, as part of efforts to expand its retail business now at about Rs 20,000 crore.

The credit card segment has grown by over 50 per cent with the number of card holders going up to over a million from 600,000 in 2001-02.

Gitanjali Group, one of the largest integrated diamond and jewellery manufacturers and retailers in India, and ICICI Bank, India's second largest bank, announced the launch of the first 'Jewellery Card'.

This premium credit card is powered by a host of unique features, benefits and rewards and is ideal for patrons looking for greater convenience and exclusive purchase and lifestyle benefits.

The ICICI Bank-Gitanjali Card is a comprehensive credit card that allows cardholders to avail of benefits across 200,000 Merchants in India and more than 22 million merchants internationally. So a consumer using this credit card at any of outlets would be rewarded for all jewellery purchases.

Credit cards, as promoted are the alternative for hard cash. We don't require carrying cash. We can pay our bills or use them for cash on emergency. Main advantage with credit cards is that unlike debit cards, they are not directly attached to our bank account. We require paying the money either completely or in partial installment after some time.
If we pay back all the money used in some particular period, we are not charged any interest. Moreover banks provide lot of schemes like reward points and money back offer. All these things look very attractive. But the reality is not as good as it appear to be. Many people fall in this misinformation's and found themselves in difficulties.