RBI’s call registry terms shake up credit card cos

RBI guidelines, which will be effective from November 30, have made it compulsory for the card-issuing bank or NBFC to maintain a DNCR comprising the phone numbers of customers and non-customers who do not wish to receive unsolicited marketing calls. The guidelines stipulate that the DCNR should be set up within two months.

The bank official said maintenance of DCNR with each bank would also worry customers, as they would have to register with each and every credit card service provider in the market.

The All India Credit Card Users Welfare Association (AICCUWA), however, termed the RBI guidelines as too lax.

‘‘We were expecting regulations to address the high rate of interest that these credit card agencies charge. We also expected more stringent norms for regulating the mode of recovery which these banks undertake. Sadly, the new guidelines do not address these two vital issues,’’ AICCUWA spokesperson Kumar Iyer said.

Major players in the credit card business like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank refused to comment on the guidelines.

But some players see positives from the new norms. ‘‘The guidelines, including the compulsory setting up of the grievance redressal machinery, will help in attracting more prospective customers and increasing credit card usage in the country,’’ Bobcard’s Assistant Vice-President marketing Jyoti Jain added.

Not everyone agrees though. Certain bankers see the guidelines leading to a slowdown in the credit card industry in the short-term. India has around 3.5 crore credit card users and the industry is growing at around 30 per cent for the past few years.

‘‘The RBI guidelines will lead to quality creation, greater retention of the credit card users and increased customer convenience. But we believe that these guidelines will lead to a slowdown in credit card growth in the short term,’’ a senior official of a top public sector bank said.