Category: Banking & Finance

Uday Kotak, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Uday Kotak, MD & CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank, in conversation with Nikunj Dalmia of ET NOW at the Times Network India Economic Conclave 2021.
During the last India Economic Conclave (IEC), you had said that India needs banks but it needs few PSU banks, it needs adaptation of fintech and it needs consolidation in the sector. I guess you knew what was happening because that indeed is happening one year after our interaction?
I do believe that India has made very serious progress in this pandemic era and actually grasped the opportunity of what we need to do. Therefore the financial sector is in for a significant change. The government’s move of testing out with two public sector banks is first of its kind and this combined with the fact that over time you will have four or five large state owned banks and private sector banks and at the same time opening up competition in the sector is the right way to go. At the same time, we need to be clear that in the last one year, Covid has changed our lives in the field of technology and financial services by a multiplier of five. What would have otherwise taken us five years is happening in one year. That is what we are going to be ready for.During the course of 2020 every time we interacted with you on various forums your words were: “India Inc has been hit. It is like a ship which is now trapped in muddy waters.” Is the challenging time behind us? Has the ship reached the shore?
Covid has created a new category of what I call as haves and have nots. The people who have had access to capital are in the category of haves and that is primarily the organised sector or companies which have access to public markets as also private equity and the have nots are the ones who did not have access to capital. There is a very stark difference between the haves and the have nots, based on access to capital. Therefore, even if you are from a stressed sector, if you have access to capital you are in good shape. If you do not have access to capital, you are in a tougher position and that is the difference which we have seen happen in front of us. That is as a result of dramatic pouring of money and liquidity globally and in India as well. That has enabled equity capital to rescue most of the organised sector.

The broad commentary from India Inc is one of highest-ever margins, strongest demand visibility and high optimism. A year ago, there was fear, gloom and doom on the Street. How does one differentiate the kind of indications which we are getting from India Inc.? Are these permanent or are there spurts of demand like sugar rush?
One year ago we did not know what hit us, we had no idea of the contours of the Covid impact. Today one year later, we seem to understand the virus a little better though it continues to mutate. At the same time, there is greater optimism on the possibility of vaccination of a lot of our people though I think it is going to take a few months more for us to get to a more comfortable place.

At the same time, we have started being able to deal with this virus in terms of our lives, what we can do, what we cannot do. We have adapted our life to the new reality. All these are the pluses and that is one of the reasons why business and industry feels they are in a better place than what it was one year ago.

Having said that, things will need to be better handled on the virus and vaccination moving forward but we have to be careful of a mindset of complacency. The virus has not gone one year later. It is still around and we feel more comfortable with it. But the virus is mutating and therefore I will certainly be looking with optimism because we are seeing a changed world. But I keep my guard up. I would not lower my guard too soon and make this more a marathon rather than a sprint.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Government not inclined to bear loan moratorium costs, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The government is not inclined to bear the burden arising of the recent Supreme Court judgement on a blanket waiver of compound interest or interest on interest on all loan accounts which opted for moratorium during March-August 2020.

“They (banks) are well-poised to handle this and we don’t see any space for government relief,” said a senior government official.

The government has already compensated banks for the interest on interest they had lost on loans outstanding below Rs 2 crore. Analysts estimate the additional cost to reimburse banks for all loans at Rs 7,000-10,000 crore.

“There is no directive from the court ordering the government to bear this cost,” the government official said on the condition of anonymity.

Since there is no deadline to refund the compound interest they have charged, banks can stagger the payment depending on individual account period and other conditions. A final call would be taken shortly, he said.

In its ruling last week, the Supreme Court refused to extend the moratorium beyond August 31, 2020 but directed lenders to waive interest on interest for all borrowers.

According to ICRA estimates, the compounded interest for six months of moratorium across all lenders was around Rs 13,500-14,000 crore, and the relief already extended over loans up to Rs 2 crore had cost the exchequer about Rs 6,500 crore.

A Macquaire research report has put the additional amount at around Rs 10,000 crore.

On account of the stress due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Reserve Bank of India had announced the loan moratorium scheme to grant temporary relief to borrowers for payment of instalments due between March and August 2020.

The apex court in its judgement observed that the government and the central bank would decide on economic policy based on expert opinion. It further said a waiver of complete interest was not possible as it would affect depositors. The court ruled out an extension of the period of loan moratorium and any specific sector-wise relief.

According to Crisil Ratings, standstill on recognition of non-performing assets (NPAs) had tied the hand of lenders and consequently impacted the credit discipline of borrowers.

“Withdrawal of the same will enable lenders to enforce various legal measures and support their recovery efforts,” it said in a note.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Govt unlikely to continue with zero-coupon bond route to recap PSU banks, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The government is unlikely to take zero-coupon bond route to further recapitalise public sector banks after the Reserve Bank expressed some concerns in this regard, sources said. The government, they said, would resort back to recapitalisation bonds bearing a coupon rate for capital infusion in these banks.

To save the interest burden and ease the fiscal pressure, the government last year decided to issue zero-coupon bonds for meeting the capital needs of the banks.

The first test case of the new mechanism was a capital infusion of Rs 5,500 crore into Punjab and Sind Bank by issuing zero-coupon bonds of six different maturities last year. These special securities with tenure of 10-15 years are non-interest bearing and valued at par.

However, the RBI raised some concerns with regard to calculation of an effective capital infusion made in any bank through this instrument issued at par, sources said.

Since such bonds usually are non-interest bearing but issued at a deep discount to the face value, it is difficult to ascertain net present value, they added.

As a result, sources said, it has been concluded to do away with zero-coupon bond for recapitalisation.

These special bonds are non-interest bearing and issued at par to a bank, they said adding that it would be an investment that would not earn any return and rather depreciate with each passing year.

This innovative mechanism was adopted to ease the financial burden as the government has already spent Rs 22,086.54 crore as interest payment towards the recapitalisation bonds for PSBs in the last two financial years.

During FY 2018-19, the government paid Rs 5,800.55 crore as interest on such bonds issued to public sector banks for pumping in the capital so that they could meet the regulatory norms under the Basel-III guidelines.

In the subsequent year, according to the official document, the interest payment by the government surged three times to Rs 16,285.99 crore to PSBs as they have been holding these papers.

For the current financial year, interest payment for recap bonds have been reduced to Rs 19,292.77 crore from Rs 25,239.4 crore pegged in the Budget estimate.

Under this mechanism, the government issues recapitalisation bonds to a public sector bank which needs capital. The said bank subscribes to the paper against which the government receives the money. Now, the money received goes as equity capital of the bank.

So the government doesn’t have to pay anything from its pocket. However, the money invested by banks in recapitalisation bonds is classified as an investment which earns them an interest.

In all, the government has issued about Rs 2.5 lakh crore recapitalisation in the last three financial years. In the first year, the government issued Rs 80,000 crore recapitalisation bonds, followed by Rs 1.06 lakh crore in 2018-19. During the last financial year, the capital infusion through bonds was Rs 65,443 crore.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , ,

Banks to conduct special clearing operations for closure of government accounts on March 31, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Banks will conduct special clearing operations for annual closure of government accounts on March 31, which is the last day of the current fiscal year, the RBI has said. The Reserve Bank has issued directions to the banks for smooth clearing operation and asked them to mandatorily participate in it.

With regard to annual closing of accounts related transactions of the central and state governments, special measures are put in place for 2020-21, the RBI has instructed all the member banks to maintain sufficient balance in their clearing settlement account.

Normal clearing timings as applicable to any working Wednesday shall be followed on March 31, 2021, the RBI said in a notification addressed to the member banks, urban and state cooperative banks, payments banks, small finance banks as well as the NPCI.

To facilitate accounting of all the government transactions for the current financial year 2020-21 by March 31, 2021, it has been decided to conduct special clearing exclusively for government cheques across the three CTS grids on March 31, 2021, the RBI said.

Under this, presentation clearing will take place between 1700 to 1730 hrs and return clearing will take place between 1900 and 1930 hrs at the three CTS (cheque truncation system) grids located in New Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai.

“It is mandatory for all banks to participate in the special clearing operations on March 31, 2021. All the member banks under the respective CTS grids are required to keep their inward clearing processing infrastructure open during the special clearing hours and maintain sufficient balance in their clearing settlement account to meet settlement obligations arising out of the special clearing,” said the regulator.

Besides, it has asked the banks under the respective CTS grids to adhere to the instructions issued to them by the President of the respective CTS grid.

Under the CTS system, there is no need to present a cheque physically for clearance, instead an electronic image is being transmitted to the paying branch through the clearing house, with the relevant data.

This eliminates the cost of movement of the physical cheques and reduces time for collection and clearance of cheques.

All government transactions done by agency banks for 2020-21 must be accounted for within the same financial year, the RBI said.

The central bank said all agency banks should keep their designated branches open for over the counter transactions related to government transactions up to the normal working hours on March 31, 2021.

“Transactions through National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System will continue up to 2400 hours as hitherto on March 31, 2021.

“Special clearing will be conducted for collection of government cheques on March 31, 2021 for which the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems (DPSS), RBI will issue necessary instructions,” it said.

With regard to reporting of central and state government transactions to RBI, including uploading of GST/e-receipts luggage files, the reporting window of March 31, 2021 will be extended and kept open till 1200 hours on April 1, 2021, the RBI said.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , ,

Are IPOs making NBFC a risky financing business?, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The choppy markets are making initial public offerings (IPOs) in India, which are considered sureshot winning bets for their huge listing gains, a risky bet.

During the pandemic, the IPO market has had a dream run with many issues doubling in value on debut trade. However, with the second wave of Covid, markets have turned volatile and IPOs with higher concerns have listed at a discount.

Kalyan Jewellers IPO listed with 15% discount on Friday while Craftsman Automation dropped 6% on debut trade against its issue price. Earlier, SBI Cards IPO has listed at a 13% discount to the issue price.

This has brought focus on the thousands of rupees of NBFC financing trade in them.

Riding on the primary market wave, NBFCs such as Bajaj Finance, Aditya Birla Finance, Motilal Oswal, IIFL Wealth, Inna Finance, JM Financial and Edelweiss among others have been funding high net worth individuals through short-term lending, sometimes for just five-seven days. From Burger King to Happiest Minds, Gland Pharma to Route Mobile or Indigo Paints, well-heeled investors are jumping at the opportunity

to rake it in within a short span. That debut bump is leading to artificial asset inflation and price distortions, according to some market participants.

IPO financing

The IPO financing market is very vibrant in 2020, supported by an increase in HNI investors’ interest in IPOs in the quest for listing gains, with average demand between Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore per IPO.

About Rs 35,200 crore was raised for the Mrs Bector Food IPO while around Rs 26,000 crore was raised for the Burger King IPO, according to data on ICRA rated commercial paper. The amount raised for Chemcon Speciality Chemicals and Computer Age Management Services was more than Rs 37,000 crore. Similarly, about Rs 24,700 crore was raised for Happiest Minds Technologies. This has pushed subscription to several hundred times.

Margin money

Currently, HNIs, with money borrowed from NBFCs, are allowed to pay just 1% margin money to bid for the entire portion reserved for this group of investors. In effect, in a Rs 1,000-crore IPO, 50% of which is reserved for HNIs, these investors can pay just Rs 5 crore to bid for shares worth Rs 500 crore offered in the IPO. Bidding with borrowed money can lead to a huge rise in the total subscription in the IPO and then to the listing prices of these offers. Often a high oversubscription number in an IPO may mislead investors into thinking that the company is doing exceptionally well, shares are highly valued and hence the mad rush for them. Post-listing, however, the shares slide and some of the investors incur losses.

NBFC Funding

Typically, to fund clients, NBFCs raise short-term money through commercial paper at 4-5% and then lend at 6.5-8%. In the last six months, the top 10 finance firms have raised nearly Rs 1.8 lakh crore through commercial paper in the primary market with a tenure of 7-10 days for IPO funding, apart from self-funding and other sources of funds. Funds are raised with a yield to maturity between 3.2% and 6.25% per annum. The HNIs make money from the listing premium, and the gains in the recent issuances have been mind-boggling.

The risk

Financiers insist the risk is limited since there is a margin for the lender in terms of shares. Normally, higher the funding cost, lower the chances of making money on the IPO after all costs are factored in. Investors need to pay interest on the entire amount borrowed and not on the amount actually allotted. That is why higher oversubscription works against borrowers as they have to have more interest on idle funds.

RBI proposal

Earlier the Reserve Bank of India had proposed to cap IPO financing by NBFCs to up to Rs 1 crore per person, a move which may lead to a sharp drop in bidding by high net worth individuals (HNIs) and a drastic reduction in subscriptions of offers.

Banks have a Rs 10-lakh limit on IPO financing and there is no such cap for NBFCs. “IPO financing by NBFCs has come under close scrutiny, more for their abuse of the system,” the RBI said in a discussion paper. “Taking into account the unique business model of NBFCs, it is proposed to fix a ceiling of Rs 1 crore per individual for any NBFC,” the RBI said. Market players said that RBI’s proposed rule would surely bring a break to highly subscribed IPOs.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , ,

Will launch country-wide agitations: All India Bank Officers’ Confederation

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) said it will launch a series of country-wide agitations culminating in strikes if the management of the Thrissur (Kerala) headquartered CSB Bank does not implement the terms of the industry-wide 11th Bipartite wage settlement vide the Joint Note for employees on the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) scale.

“It is pertinent to note here that this 100-year-old bank had implemented all the bipartite settlements thus far beginning with the first in 1966 and the 10th in 2015 along with all Joint Notes.

“…We would like to point out that implementing the Joint Note/Bipartite settlement in this centenary year of the bank will stand to benefit the bank as it will motivate the employees immensely which in the long run will increase the productivity,” said Soumya Datta, General Secretary, AIBOC.

Datta emphasised that AIBOC will stand with all its might behind its associate, the Catholic Syrian Bank Officers’ Association, to ensure that employees on IBA scale in CSB get the fruits of the negotiated 8th joint note.

Compensation structure

In its annual report for 2019-20, CSB Bank said it is the discretion of the bank either to continue with the existing compensation structure prevailing under IBA scheme or modify the structure partially or fully based on the need or discontinue the existing structure in to and switch over to different structure which is prevailing in banking industry by keeping in view, various parameters like industry level, peer group status, burden on the bank, etc.

The report underscored that it is the prerogative of the bank either to utilise the service of IBA in the matter of structuring compensation or devise the compensation structure on its own based on the prevailing practice in the banking industry.

Out of 3,204 employees (as at March-end 2020), 1,805 employees both officers and Award Staff are governed under IBA pay structure and the remaining (1238 employees) are governed under Cost to Company basis.

During this financial year, as a policy decision the bank implemented, reducing the age of retirement of the officers from 60 years to 58 years, the report said.

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , ,

CEA, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Asserting that the disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore for 2021-22 was “imminently achievable”, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K V Subramanian on Saturday said the proposed initial public offering (IPO) by LIC itself could garner Rs 1 lakh crore for the government. He also said retail inflation targeting by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has helped in bringing down the volatility and level of inflation.

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee has been mandated to maintain annual inflation at 4 per cent until March 31, 2021, with an upper tolerance of 6 per cent and lower limit of 2 per cent.

Speaking at a virtual conference by Jana Small Finance Bank, Subramanian said the disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore for 2021-22 is actually a carry over of the Rs 2.10 lakh crore target set for the current fiscal ending March 31.

“Of this, BPCL privatisation and LIC listing itself were important contributors. There are estimates suggesting Rs 75,000-80,000 crore or even higher can just come from the privatisation of BPCL itself. LIC IPO could bring in Rs 1 lakh crore approximately,” he said.

The government is selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL in the nation’s biggest privatisation till date. Vedanta Group and private equity firms Apollo Global and I Squared Capital’s Indian unit Think Gas have put in an expression of interest for buying the government’s stake.

With regard to LIC’s listing, the government has already got amendments in the LIC Act passed through Finance Bill 2021 in Parliament earlier this week.

“These are numbers (disinvestment) which are imminently achievable because the work had begun on many of these and they will be completed in FY’22,” he said.

Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on privatisation, he said these are signature changes that are happening.

Prime Minister Modi had last month said the government has no business to be in business and his administration is committed to privatising all PSUs barring the bare minimum in four strategic sectors.

Subramanian also emphasised that India needs a lot more banks for meeting its growth potential.

Citing an example of the US, he said America which has one-third the population of India has about 25,000-30,000 banks.

On the long-term growth story of India, he said the economy is expected to record double digit growth next financial year.

During 2022-23, it could moderate to 6.5-7 per cent and thereafter 7.5-8 per cent, aided by the reform measures announced by the government recently, he added.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , ,

Niyo plans to apply for mutual fund licence; aims to double user base by end of FY22, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Niyo, a neobank, is keen to enter the asset management space and mulling to apply to Sebi for a mutual fund licence, a company official said on Thursday. The Bengaluru-based fintech firm, which started off with prepaid instruments, is targeting to more than double its user base to 5 million by the end of FY22 from the present 2 million on the back of new tie-ups with players in the financial services space.

“We are keen to enter the AMC space and are in the process of exploring the idea of applying for a licence,” its co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Virender Bisht told .

In December, Sebi had allowed fintech firms to apply for MF licences.

Niyo had had last year announced the acquisition of Goalwise, an MF distribution platform. The company already distributes insurance policies, has a presence in wealth management through an acquisition and also offers stock buying.

Niyo on Thursday announced a tie-up with Equitas Small Finance Bank, wherein it will be launching a co-branded digital first savings accounts platform initially aimed at the millennial segment.

Its founder and chief executive Vinay Bagri said the platform has features like an interest rate of over 7 per cent, and explained that savings account and wealth management offerings, when given together, can get stickiness to a relationship and make an account last for over a decade.

Niyo, which already has a presence on the wealth management side through an acquisition and also allows users to trade in equities through it, is targeting to add 1 million users from the partnership with Equitas by the end of 2021.

Equitas’ Chief Digital Officer Vaibhav Joshi said the lender has 8 lakh savings accounts at present and is aiming to more than double the number through the partnership.

Bagri said it is a savings account and wealth management proposition to start with, but eventually Niyo will be looking at offering lending solutions to the same segment as well.

Initially, there is no revenue generation possibility, but eventually once the user starts availing mutual funds or loans, it will help in revenue booking, Bisht added.

Bisht also said Niyo is also looking at a newer funding round later in 2021 to fuel its expansion, but stressed that the saving account opening partnership, its most ambitious business initiate yet, is not capital intensive.

The fintech company will get another 0.5 million users from a blue collar workers-focused offering for which it has tie-ups with other lenders, Bisht said, exuding confidence that the target of 5 million users is achievable.

At present, Niyo is a “growing” company with some of its offerings reporting operating profits, he said.

The biggest hindrance for the company for growing users was the inability to offer interest on deposits and also lack of UPI gateway, which gets sorted with the partnership with Equitas, Bisht said.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

HDFC Bank, SBI, others not adhering to norms on bulk SMSes, says TRAI; sets Mar 31 deadline for full compliance, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The telecom regulator on Friday released a list of 40 “defaulter” principal entities, including large banks like HDFC Bank, SBI and ICICI Bank, that are not fulfilling the regulatory norms on bulk commercial messages despite repeated reminders. Hardening its stance on the issue, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) warned that defaulting entities should comply with the stipulated requirements by March 31, 2021 “to avoid any disruption in the communication with customers” from April 1, 2021.

“As sufficient opportunity has been given to principal entities/ telemarketers to comply with the regulatory requirements and that the consumers cannot be deprived of the benefits of the regulatory provisions any further, therefore it has been decided that from April 1, 2021, any message failing in the scrubbing process due to non-compliance of regulatory requirements will be rejected” by the system, TRAI said in a statement.

TRAI’s norms for commercial messages, based on blockchain technology, aim to curb unsolicited and fraudulent messages.

The norms require bonafide entities sending commercial text messages to register message header and templates with telecom operators. The SMSes and OTPs, when sent by user entities (banks, payment companies and others), are checked against the templates registered on the blockchain platform — a process called SMS scrubbing.

TRAI has analysed the scrubbing data and reports submitted by the telecom service providers and also held a meeting with telemarketers/ aggregators on March 25, 2021.

“It has been informed that Principal Entities including major banks like State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Punjab National Bank, Axis Bank etc are not transmitting mandatory parametres like content template IDs, PE IDs etc. even in those cases where content templates have been registered, while sending such messages to telecom service providers for delivery,” TRAI said.

The regulator, on analysing the cases of failure of messages due to scrubbing, found that various principal entities and telemarketers are not fulfilling regulatory requirements.

In the absence of these necessary parameters, the messages are bound to be rejected by the system during the scrubbing process.

TRAI has released a list of 40 “defaulter” principal entities which includes large banks like Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and big names like Reliance Retail Ltd, and Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd.

Others in the list include Life Insurance Corporation of India and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.

Separately, TRAI has also issued a list of 40 “defaulter telemarketers”.

“Sufficient time has already been given to the Principal Entities/ telemarketers and other entities to comply with the regulatory framework. However, it appears that few entities are not only indifferent but also not serious enough in complying with the provisions of the regulations thereby causing inconvenience to customers,” the TRAI statement said.

This “should not and cannot” be allowed to continue, it asserted.

Enforcement of TRAI regulations is vital as delivery of non compliant messages allows fraudulent miscreants to conveniently misuse the message delivery system for cheating and defrauding customers, it contended.

TRAI said entities involved in sending out bulk commercial messages should fulfil regulatory requirements.

It urged regulatory bodies like RBI, SEBI, IRDA, central and state government departments and other establishments to “impress upon Principal entities” under their jurisdiction to follow the regulatory requirements strictly.

Earlier this month, transactions, including banking, credit card payment and certain other services that involve SMSes and OTP generation, had faced an major outage when telcos implemented the TRAI norms for commercial messages, without the balancing measures in place by principal entities (entities that send out bonafide bulk, commercial messages).

Following the disruption, TRAI has given a temporary breather to such companies, but had insisted that they take immediate measures to comply with the norms.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Union Bank of India and HPCL launch co-branded contactless RuPay card, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Union Bank of Indiaand Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited have launched co-branded contactless RuPay credit card. The users of this card will get 16X reward points, which would be equivalent to 4% cashback, on fuel spends worth Rs. 500 and above at over 18000 HPCL outlets across the country. Customers will also receive additional 1.5% reward points from HPCL if they pay for fuel via HP Pay wallet. Customers will also get the benefit of 1% fuel surcharge waiver for fuel transactions at HPCL retail outlets.

This is the first time a co-branded branded RuPay credit card is being launched with NCMC (National Common Mobility Card) feature which will enable contactless transactions in-transit for travel by metro, bus, taxi, suburban railways, toll and topping-up FASTags, parking and also for retail purchases. Thus a single card can be used for payments for all requirements thereby avoiding the need to have multiple cards.

The UBI – HPCL contactless RuPay card users will also receive a welcome bonus of Rs. 300 which can be used to purchase fuel at any HPCL retail outlet within 60 days of card activation. Additionally, if customers spend Rs. 5000 in the first month of card issuance, they are entitled for a card Activation Bonus in the form of a shopping voucher from a reputed brand.

The card comes with a nominal joining fee. UBI – HPCL RuPay contactless card offers multiple benefits and offers in the non-fuel category as well which includes entertainment, lifestyle, travel, shopping, food delivery and the likes. The card rewards customers for all their non-fuel purchases with 2X reward points. Additionally, on spending Rs. 1.25 lakh or above in a year for non-fuel purchases, the users will get incremental milestone rewards of 500 points and 100 additional points on Rs. 25,000 spend thereafter. For every purchase worth Rs. 50,000 beyond Rs. 2 lakh for non-fuel purchases, customers will receive an additional 1000 reward points.

Mukesh Kumar Surana, Chairman & Managing Director HPCL said, “HPCL is very happy to partner with Union Bank of India and NPCI to launch co-branded RuPay Credit Card with new facilities to enhance customer convenience. This is the first co-branded RuPay Credit Card which is powered with “National Common Mobility Card” features which will help the card holders to have the facility to use this card for metro travel, bus travel, parking fees, FASTag etc. In addition to all the features of a credit card with enhanced offerings and rewards.

Raj Kiran G. MD & CEO, Union Bank of India said, “We are happy to announce that we are launching the Union Bank HPCL Co-branded credit card on the RuPay platform. Our partnership with HPCL – one of the leading players in fuel retail segment– and RuPay – India’s global card payment network, provides us an opportunity to work together to create value for our customers.”

Dilip Asbe, MD & CEO, NPCI said, “We are happy to launch the Union Bank HPCL RuPay co-branded contactless credit card. We believe our partnership with HPCL and Union Bank is set to provide a rewarding and delightful fuel and non-fuel transactions experience to the cardholders. We are also confident that this card will help strengthen RuPay’s customer base as it comes with various attractive benefits and rewards. The launch of this card will also act as a catalyst in re-defining retail shopping for customers by encouraging them to adopt cash-lite and contactless transactions.”



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , ,
1 … 417 418 419 420 421 … 540