Slowdown Seen In Indian Credit Card Issuing

Indian credit card companies have slowed the pace of card issuance while simultaneously focusing on fee-based cards, an official from Mumbai-based Bank of Baroda tells CardLine Global. "When the going was good, card issuers were fighting for the higher market share by issuing cards to all and sundry without due diligence," the official says. "In this changed economic scenario, however, issuers are looking at the spending and repayment ability of the customer before issuing a card." According to an official from the State Bank of India who requested anonymity, the bigger change in the card market will be the shift to the premium segment. "We are in the process of launching a new premium card sometime soon, as we see real value in the premium segment," he says. "Premium customers spend and not keep the card idle unlike our basic segments." In February, Citibank launched its Platinum Select card with an annual fee of 4,000 rupees (US$80), while ICICI Bank launched ICICI Bank Singapore Airlines Visa Platinum card in May that comes with an annual fee of 6,000 rupees.