Srinagar: Interviewer: Given that the credit card segment has evolved, are there any do’s and don’ts that you
would like to advise our viewers about, particularly those sitting on the fence about whether to get a
credit card or not.
Angshuman Chatterjee (Head Products – Consumer Credit Cards & Digital Acquisition Mumbai, HDFC
Bank): There are certain intuitive do’s and don’ts that I will touch upon. But what is important to
understand is that as we talk about digital overpowering digital sense in the world – there are people
who are taking advantage of customers who are gullible. The first rule when you have a credit card is that you do not share your credit card number with
anybody, do not share the OTP – not even with the Bank. That is private and only relevant for the
specific transaction. Secondly, do not go and give out your credit card information in every link possible. Have some prudence, not every site is going to help you. You should be careful about the spam emails that ask for donations saying someone is sick, or calls asking you to share the last 4 digits of your credit card number to get a new credit card – you have to say no. If there are genuine calls – you will realise it. If you take a fundamental stance that you will say no – you are kind of safe.
At the same time, what the Bank is doing at the backend is constantly working to ensure that your credit card is a very secure way to transact. For eg, for our super premium cards, the reason that they are constantly being used for very large purchases – there is dedicated team that calls you if they see that the purchase pattern does not fit the way you have been using the card. For other cards, there is a team which deals with risk and frauds 24×7. The Bank has created its own IP for the huge management of data and analysis, to see at any given point of time, what are the transactions that are happening that might be a cause for concern – we immediately get back to the customer. We also have Insta-cards. This means that if you feel uncomfortable with a transaction, you hotlist your card, we will be able to give you an Insta-card so that you can start your transactions again. Another is that you have a credit card which gives you close to 50 days to pay your bills otherwise a charge is levied. The request is try and pay your bill within 50 days so that there are no charges and it continues to be the most convenient thing in your pocket. If by chance you have been duped as a customer and you have informed the Bank, that is where the Bank completely takes care of the transaction. It will not charge you for a fraudulent transaction, that will be absorbed by the Bank and the process thereof. All systems put together are trying to protect the customer, the request is that the customer does not fall prey to the newer ways and means happening today. So be careful where you use your card. Not all online links needs you to set up your credit card. Ensure that your OTP is never revealed and ensure that your card is always in your wallet. As long as you do these fundamental, intuitive important things we are quite sure that it will be a fantastic ride with a credit card. Being careful always helps and there is no debate on that – there is no option or fallback for it.Interviewer: How does one become a smart credit card user – say when it comes to harnessing the power of reward points. Can you throw some light on that?
Angshuman Chatterjee (Head Products – Consumer Credit Cards & Digital Acquisition Mumbai, HDFC
Bank): When we did research on Millennia, it was clear that instant gratification was the order of the
day. That is the customer segment – they are young, they want to get things instantly and not tied down with one partner or one co-brand. So what we have done is we have given cash-back on Millennia. You don’t need to worry about reward points. Reward points come in the other premium cards – Regalia, Times and Infinia. What you need to do is understand how Reward points work. For that reason converting every spend that you do, you need to do on your credit card – that is the single smart way to go on acquiring points. This means that the spend
that you do on groceries, petrol – wherever you use cash, instead use the card. You start accruing points. Once you reach 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000 points – the Bank offers you benefits.
One, you go to SmartBuy and you can instantly get vouchers – these could be lifestyle products,
shopping vouchers. You can also convert your reward points on a super premium card (which is the best thing to do) – for travel. So if you have 10000 reward points, you have spent about Rs 30000-40000 per month on your card – which is about Rs 5 lac a year – with the offers that we give on SmartBuy – you get 3x or 5x special deals – all that helps you earn better more points than you get on the normal point structure that is given to you. All these points together can give you a 1-way ticket or sometimes two way ticket to your favourite destination. So the first rule is draw all your spends onto your credit card, keep a tab on the reward points and know
that you can get your vouchers. We have an excellent catalog that you can use. Thirdly, you can use it to do any airline booking, any hotel booking – you will be able to book without paying anything else. That makes the reward points of HDFC Bank credit cards a very powerful tool – because it is not only the catalog. You can actually benefit across travel, vacation – which is hotel stay, buying something from the catalog. And then on the super premium card, you can also use it to buy a certain amount of vouchers easily off the rack – instant vouchers – which means Amazon, lifestyle vouchers. All you need to do is go on using your HDFC Bank credit card for all your spends that you might otherwise do in cash.
