Banks and financial services companies are moving their focus from credit cards to prepaid cards.
Leading private banks in the country such as Axis Bank Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd and Yes Bank Ltd have already commenced giving prepaid cards. These cards are available in various types such as one-time gift cards, foreign currency travel cards, meal cards, corporate incentive cards and government disbursement cards.
Canara Bank and Standard Chartered Bank intend to venture into this division in this fiscal.
MasterCard and Visa, two of the biggest electronic payment service providers state that their chances of growth in future are bright with these prepaid cards.
As per HDFC Bank, there has been a fast increase in prepaid cards. Navtej Singh, head (direct payment products), HDFC Bank said, “We offer all types of cards-payroll, travel, food and gift-and we have seen 75-80% growth in the last year”.
Canara Bank plans to venture into this division with a gift card, a travel card, and a corporate card. Nagendra H.V., manager, Canara Bank said, “The gift card will be launched very soon with a maximum unreloadable limit of ‘5,000”.
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