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Indian banks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank reportedly have decided to increase the rates they charge merchants for debit and credit card transactions conducted at point-of-sale terminals. The banks offered no immediate comment to CardLine Global about the press reports, which said the banks are raising the rates, which stand at 1% to 1.1% of purchase value, by one or two percentage points. "The main reason for such a hike is to increase [banks'] operating profits and reduce expenses," Prathima Rajan, an India-based analyst with United States-based Celent LLC, tells CardLine Global. "This move will likely shrink the margin of the retail merchants and hit their profit in the short- to medium-term."
