ICICI Bank ups ante in credit card space
Unveils super saver card to offer 5% cash back at the State-owned oil refiner's outlets and an additional 1.5% if the payment is done through the HP Pay app
image for illustrative purpose
Upping its game in the credit card market where it has been closing in on its bigger rival HDFC Bank, India's second largest private lender ICICI Bank on Tuesday launched a co-branded offering that gives discounts on fuel purchases.
The 'ICICI Bank HPCL Super Saver' card will offer five per cent cashback at the State-owned oil refiner's outlets and an additional 1.5 per cent if the payment is done through the HP Pay app, an official statement said. It can be noted that HDFC Bank was barred from issuing any new cards by the RBI after multiple instances of outages at the largest private sector lender. Rivals ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Axis Bank were quick to seize the opportunity and narrowed their difference with HDFC Bank. HDFC Bank has said it has complied with 85 per cent of the RBI's asks and the ball is now in the regulator's court to allow them to re-enter credit card selling.
According to the RBI data, HDFC Bank's outstanding credit cards decreased to 1,48,58,375 as of May 2021 from 1,53,86,822 in November 2020, while the same number for ICICI Bank has increased to 1,08,73,007 from 97,10,535. The card launch offering a discount on fuel also comes at a time when petrol and diesel prices have touched record highs and calls are being to lower its taxes, which influence 60 per cent of the retail price.
The new offering, the first after the ban on Mastercard for non-compliance with data localisation requirements, is powered by Visa, an official statement from the lender said. Sudipta Roy, the head of unsecured assets for the second-largest private sector lender, said similar credit cards offer accelerated benefits on spends in one category, but the bank's new offering helps customers to save on every transaction that they make. "This credit card will help in promoting the digital payment ecosystem at retail outlets and meet the expectations of the customers with its innovative offerings," HPCL's executive director for retail S K Puri said. The annual fee for the card is Rs 500.
