Citibank directed to pay Rs 50,000 compensation

Citibank had to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to Sanjeev Mehan, a resident of Sector 22. The district consumer disputes redressal forum directed Citibank as the bank had put the complainant name in the list of the defaulters in spite of clearing all dues. The forum has also directed to delete the name of the complainant from the list of defaulters of the Credit Rating Agencies and to not to charge any outstanding dues.

In his complaint Sanjeev stated that he availed of credit in January 2000. In spite of clearing all the monthly bills in time, in August 2000, Mehan received an account statement mentioning about the transaction for July, which he had never made.

He wrote a letter to the bank requesting for the removal of the said entries but the process continued for September.

Beleaguered, with the attitude of the bank he requested to reverse the wrong debit entries and to cancel his credit card. After this he said, he stopped using his card.

But in 2007, he started receiving calls from the bank asking him to pay Rs 55,000 against the dues of the credit card.

Mehan alleged in spite of his requesting for details the company did not send him a list instead he started receiving threatening calls from the bank and his name was put in the list of defaulters.

In its reply, Citibank said it had asked complainant to fill a Customer Declaration Form along with the reverse copy of his credit card and to send them for verification.

It maintained that the dues against the complainant still existed and no threatening calls were made to him.

The forum in its enquiry found that except the account statement, bank did not submit anything else as record by the company to prove that there was any outstanding amount against him.

The forum in its ruling said that the company’s demand of Rs 55,000 was “illegal and unjustified”.

Citibank in association with CPP launched a novel rescue plan

Citibank cardholders now don’t need to contact bank to freeze the credit or debit card one phone call will solve the problem. Citibank, in partnership with CPP Assistance Services, has launched a card protection plan for its cardholder wherein they don’t only get protection for Citibank credit card or debit cards, but also for those of other issuers, and even non-financial ones such as store, loyalty and membership cards.

Under this plan the cardholder will also be protected from any fraudulent use that may have occurred seven days prior to discovery and within 24 hours of notification of card loss. CPP Assistance is a subsidiary of CPP Group, a global leader in the assistance services market.

“Losing one’s wallet can be devastating, especially if its contents are stolen and abused. With this protection offer, consumers can now travel and use their cards with a peace of mind, anytime and anywhere knowing that their card is protected,” said Sandeep Bhalla, Business Manager, Cards, Citibank India.

Customers get the option to select the appropriate cover plan in line with their lifestyle and spending behavior. According to the plan selected by the customers, they would get thecoverfor loss on account of fraud on their cards up to Rs 1 lakh prior and Rs 20 lakh post-notification.

"The protection also includes overseas emergency assistance for payment of hotel expenses of up to Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 60,000 in India and replacement travel ticket advance of Rs 1.2 lakh while overseas and Rs 60,000 whilst in India," Bhalla said.

Bhalla said the premium on the protection plan will be "An annual fee of Rs 995 for the Classic plan or Rs 1,295 for the Premium plan".

Citibank offers card protection plan benefit to its customers

On Wednesday Citibank introduced a new card protection benefit for its customer. Bank has launched this scheme in tie-up with CPP Assistance Services, a global player in assistance services marketing.

With the introduction of this scheme the card benefit include protection against any misuse due to lost/stolen card. Under this service the cardholder’s entire wallet of cards be credit or debit, including those of other issuers, and even non-financial ones such as store, loyalty and membership cards gets protected. Further, the cardholder also gets protection from any fraudulent use that may have occurred seven days prior to discovery and within 24 hours of notification of card loss.

Besides, the CPP Card Protection offers benefits such as a single number to call to cancel all lost cards, replacement assistance, emergency travel and hotel assistance in India and overseas due to card loss, valuable document registration and retrieval, reminder services and access to a 24 hour toll-free CPP helpline.

Cardholders get option to choose from a set of distinct plans, suitable to their lifestyle and spending behavior. In accordance to the plan selected, customers can be covered for fraud loss on their credit cards up to Rs.1 lakh prior and Rs.20 lakhs post notification; overseas emergency assistance for payment of hotel expenses of upto Rs.1.2 lakhs and Rs.60, 000 in India; and replacement travel ticket advance of Rs.1.2 lakhs while overseas and Rs.60,000 in India. The annual fee of Rs. 995 will be charged for the classic plan and Rs.1295 for the premium plan.

During the launch Sandeep Bhalla, business manager, cards, Citibank India, said, “With this protection offer, consumers can now travel and use their cards with a peace of mind, anytime and anywhere knowing that their card is protected. Also, regulators have strongly recommended banks to introduce a cover to take care of the liabilities arising out of lost cards, and Citicards has provided such a solution to our customer base.”

Citibank launched FD scheme offering option to invest interest in mutual funds

On Wednesday Citibank N.A. launched Citibank Protect & Grow, a product offering customers the safety of a fixed deposit with the option to invest the interest earned into mutual funds. Under this product the customers will get the option to choose any combination of a maximum of four open-ended mutual funds from among those distributed by Citibank.

Citibank Protect & Grow has been designed keeping in the mind the needs of potential investors who aim to obtain returns that are greater than just the interest on the fixed deposit. The product offer is available on a minimum deposit of Rs.15 lakhs for a minimum tenure of 1 year. The fixed deposit interest rates, computed quarterly (simple interest), applicable for Citibank Protect & Grow will be similar to those on Citibank’s vanilla fixed deposits.

Speaking during the launch N Rajashekaran, Country Business Manager, Global Consumer Group, Citi India, said, “In the current environment, wealth preservation is as important as wealth creation. We are very happy to provide our customers with an innovative solution that helps them get more out of their safe money.”

Citibank Protect & Grow works like a Systematic Investment Plan--the interest earned on the fixed deposit is invested every quarter into mutual funds, which helps investors ride over the market highs and lows and averaging out the cost of purchase.

Citibank in association with Travelguru launched Travel Reward platform

Citibank India launched Citibank Travel Rewards for its cardholders in collaboration with Travelguru, India’s largest hotel network and premier travel portal. The reward platform launched by Citibank is first-of-its-kind which will not only fulfill their desire to travel but also earn them handsome reward points and discounts on their spending on hotel and holiday packages. The platform has been hosted exclusively for Citibank Cardholders at www. Travelrewards.co.in.

Some of the major benefits Citibank Travel Rewards offer are:

• Accrual of triple reward points on hotel and holiday package bookings done using any Citibank credit card through Citibank Travel Rewards.
• A unique opportunity for instant online redemption of reward points earned on all Citi-branded cards against purchase of hotel and holiday package bookings.
• Convenience of a dedicated toll-free helpline to consult a travel specialist.
• An assured discount voucher of up to Rs 5000/- on registration at www.travelrewards.co.in.

At the launch ceremony of Citibank Travel Rewards program, Sandeep Bhalla, Business Manager, Cards, Citibank India, said, "With increasing disposable incomes, leisure travel has been on the rise in India and has become an exciting and memorable way for families to spend quality time together. However, due to work commitments and time constraints, customers have begun to seek out holiday planning solutions that give them choice and convenience at their fingertips. This is why Citibank has designed an exclusive program with Travelguru for our card members aimed at ‘enhancing the joy of being with family’. Making the proposition even more compelling and a sure win for our customers is the handsome reward point advantage."

According to Industry research approximately 20 percent of spending on cards is on travel and travel-related purchases.

Ashwin Damera, Founder & CEO, Travelguru.com said, “We are delighted to partner with Citibank, India’s premier bank and the pioneers of the card industry in India. As India’s largest hotel network, Travelguru has been constantly innovating to provide customers enhanced value as well as facilitate a seamless hotel and holiday booking experience. The Citibank Travel Rewards program allows all Citibank credit card customers in India to do smart travel purchases of hotels and holidays through Travelguru. The win-win partnership synergizes the strengths of both organizations: Travelguru’s hotels and holiday expertise with Citibank’s key strengths in consumer networking, universal brand presence and product advancement. It not only benefits the customer with exclusive travel deals but also incentives them with triple reward points on every transaction they make. Also, it allows Citi-branded cardholders to instantly redeem their Citi reward points for hotel bookings, a first-of-its-kind in India.”

Citibank, Reliance Retail plan to get into a joint venture

Citibank a private sector lender and Mukesh Ambani – owned Reliance Retail will be getting into a 50:50 joint venture. Reliance Retail will be distributing Citibank’s consumer finance products such as loans and credit cards. The joint venture will be working as a non-banking financial company (NBFC) with a combined investment of Rs 500 crore.

A senior Citi executive informed Business Standard that both the parties will be investing around Rs 250 crore, whereas the rest of details are being worked out.

“We have already started distributing Citibank’s retail banking products through Reliance Retail. Both of us would have equal contribution to expand the business. We have invested about $62 million in the partnership,” the executive added.

However formal announcement of the deal has to be made, as per sources the joint venture will be initially targeting Reliance Retail’s large customer base, which is approximately around 4 million. Reliance Retail, at present, is having over 1,000 retail outlets across the country.

There is also proposal of launching a couple of new co-branded cards in collaboration. Previously Citi had entered in a joint venture with Maruti Suzuki for car finance in recent months, although the JV’s activities have reduced in recent months.

Reliance is ramping up its retail operations with premium and luxury brands as well as the consumer durables business.

Consumer finance, including loans and credit cards, is one of the fastest-growing segments in the financial services sector. The sector is estimated to grow at a rate of about 30 per cent annually. It is expected that the sector will grow at a rate of about 30 per cent annually. In India the annual credit card spending is in the range of Rs 50,000 crore. Whereas the penetration of credit cards in India is about 1 per cent as compared to a global average of 4.6 per cent.

Although over the past few quarters there has been rise in the delinquencies in the credit card industry.

In an interview Sanjay Nayar, CEO, South Asia, Citi, told Business Standard, “For credit cards, where you actually get industry numbers, the industry average is around 11-12 per cent. Citi is half that number. On unsecured loans too, we are better than the industry. We still have a very good risk management system. We get a lot of signals and we act on it. We are trying to do a multi-product relationship with our customers.”

ABN-AMRO personal loan defaulters rising in the number

ABN Amro Bank’s country executive Meera Sanyal said in Mumbai that there has been rise in the number of personal loan defaulters in its India operations.

"This is a part of the credit cycle, we have to be careful with it. The whole banking sector has to deal with this," Sanyal said.

But she refused to give out the count of the bank's personal loan portfolio in India.

She added in the current economic slowdown conditions the medium term growth will be slow but expects good growth in the long term.

Adding to this Sanyal said by October inflation might touch 13-14 percent but after that it will decrease off.

"Since the oil and commodities prices are falling, in the long run there will be a strong consumer demand," Sanyal added.