'The subsequent slump had seen credit card issuing banks going into losses because of non-recovery of the dues.,' says Diwakar Gupta.
Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) made its foray into the credit card business by launching its co-branded credit card with the State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday in Pune.
Available in two variants of platinum and gold cards, SBI-BoM card will offer distinct and exclusive benefits for BoM customers.
According to BoM, the platinum card will offer 10 cash points for every Rs100 spent on dining, purchases at departmental stores and other shops. This card will offer attractive benefits in terms of exclusive tie-ups with Kingfisher Airlines. The gold card will offer one cash point per Rs100 spent and 2.5% value back on purchases made at all departmental stores.
Speaking on the occasion, SBI managing director and chief financial officer (CFO) Diwakar Gupta advised caution and discretion while issuing the credit cards. He pointed out how during the heydays of credit card business in India, the country had seen the issuance of more than 29 million cards.
"The subsequent slump had seen credit card issuing banks going into losses because of non-recovery of the dues. At present, there are 17-20 million credit cards in the market. So I would advise the BoM managers not to push for figures, but to issue credit cards only to people who ask for it," he said.
AS Bhattacharya, the chairman and managing director of BoM, pointed out that the introduction of the credit card will act as a value addition to the bouquet of the bank's product and services offered to its customers. "The credit card will meet the longstanding need of the customers," he said.
Earlier on Monday, the 8th annual general body (AGM) of the bank was held at its central office in Pune, in which the shareholders approved of declaration of annual dividend of 20%.
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