The RBI (Credit Card and Debit Card – Issuance and Conduct) Directions, 2022 shall apply to all Scheduled Banks (except Payments Banks, State Co-operative Banks, and District Central Cooperative Banks) as well as all Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) operating in India.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released master directions for credit and debit card issuance on April 21. The RBI (Credit Card and Debit Card – Issuance and Conduct) Directions, 2022 shall apply to all Scheduled Banks (except Payments Banks, State Co-operative Banks, and District Central Cooperative Banks) as well as all Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) operating in India. The new directions shall be effective from July 01, 2022.
“These directions cover the general and conduct regulations relating to credit, debit and co-branded cards which shall be read along with prudential, payment and technology & cyber security related directions applicable to credit, debit and co-branded cards, as issued by the Reserve Bank,” RBI stated through its media release.
Take a look at RBI’s new guidelines for credit card issuers:
1) Card-issuers shall provide a one-page Key Fact Statement along with the credit card application containing the important aspects of the card such as rate of interest, quantum of charges, among others. In case of rejection of a credit card application, the card-issuer shall convey in writing the specific reason/s which led to the rejection of the application.
2) Banks not to issue unsolicited credit cards or upgrade an existing card without the explicit consent of the customer, failing which they will have to pay double the billed amount as penalty.