Covid-19 relief: HDFC Bank releases FAQ on deferred EMIs and its impact

As the Reserve Bank of India announced relief measures for the common man to deal with coronavirus, several banks have come out with their explanations on what will the impact on the EMIs for the customers if they opt for deferring the EMIs by three months. Here is an FAQ by HDFC Bank, explaining how the stipulation by RBI will impact its customers. 

FAQs on EMI Moratorium

1. What is the EMI moratorium provided for loans under Covid-19 - regulatory package?

• RBI has allowed all Banks and Indian Financial Institutions to offer its customers an option of EMI moratorium up to 3 months
• That is customer can choose to defer their EMI payments scheduled from Mar 1st, 2020 to May 31st, 2020.

2. Who is eligible?

All HDFC Bank customers who have availed of retail instalment loan or any other retail credit facilities prior to 1st March 2020 are eligible.

Customers having overdues prior to 1st March 2020 may also opt for the moratorium, and their requests shall be considered by the bank based on its merits. For such customers, the extant IRAC norms shall apply

• Retail loans or Term loan like Car Loan, Personal Loan or Jumbo Loan or any other retail credit facilities prior to 1st March 2020 are eligible.
• All Agri Loans (Kisan Gold Card) and Microfinance customers under the Bank’s Sustainable Livelihood Initiative are eligible.
• All Corporate as well as SME customers are eligible. Customer will be informed on the moratorium process by their respective relationship manager. (Respective business heads will share details on Corporate and SME moratorium)

What will happen if customer chooses the EMI Moratorium?

If a customer chooses EMI moratorium, them:

• Bank will not ask for any EMI Payment until May 31st, 2020.
• Interest will continue to accrue on the principal outstanding for the period of the moratorium at the contracted rate of the loan.
• The loan tenure will get extended by the corresponding period for which the moratorium has been availed.

For example, if a customer has paid the EMI for the month of Mar’2020 and has opted for moratorium for April & May’2020, then the loan tenure will get extended by 2 months.

4. If customer does not want the EMI moratorium, what should they do?

• Inform the customer that it is completely their choice and no further action will be required if they don’t want to opt for the EMI moratorium. Unless customer asks, the bank will continue normal operations in their account including presentation of EMI loans or collection of interest / instalments.
• The start point of benefit of moratorium is when the customer approaches the bank or there is non-payment of dues now or in normal course of business.
• Also, no changes will be made by the bank to customer’s repayment instructions.
• However, if customer skips to pay the EMI during this period, bank will understand that the customer has opted for EMI moratorium till May 2020.

The bank encourage customers with adequate funds to continue paying during this period to avoid the extra interest charges and tenure extension.

5. If a customer has come with a query of EMI being debited from their account in spite of RBI announcing moratorium?

• Inform the customer that opting for the moratorium is entirely their choice
• Eligible customer can opt for moratorium at any point of time during the permitted moratorium period even if the EMIs are already paid.
• The already debited EMI will be refunded by Bank (within a reasonable amount of time) and register the loan account under the moratorium process.
• Make them understand the process as instructed in Question 7.

Kindly note, all customers may not opt for the moratorium given that there is an additional levy of interest payable under the terms of the Moratorium.

6. What are the charges that customers have to pay if they avail of the EMI moratorium?

• If customers avail the EMI moratorium, there will be a levy of interest at the contracted rate of the loan for the period of EMI moratorium on the loan outstanding.
• Such interest will be collected by extending the original tenor of the loan accordingly

7. What is the process for the customer to apply for the EMI moratorium? 

Customer should know that they can defer their EMI by providing their consent to the bank through any of the following ways. Please advise customers to keep their loan account number handy for the purpose. Also, inform customers that the details provided by them have to be correct and as per bank’s record, else the request will be considered void. And once the request is submitted it cannot be changed /modified.

• Call on this number and follow the instructions –022-50042333, 022-50042211 OR
• By submitting their request in a few clicks at this link https://apply.hdfcbank.com/vivid/afp?product=mo

8. Can a customer avail EMI moratorium for more than one loan from HDFC Bank?

• Inform the customer that they can opt for EMI moratorium for as many loans that they have availed from us.
• Please also inform them about the additional interest for the EMI moratorium period will be applicable for each loan separately.

9. What is the process for the customer to avail EMI Moratorium for more than one loan?

• Inform the customer that the process for each loan is same as illustrated in Question 7.
• Customer has to submit the requests separately for each loan facility with the bank.

10. What if a customer has already paid EMIs for April 2020 and or May 2020 and would like to avail the moratorium till 31st May 2020, please inform them as below.

• The customer can avail of the EMI moratorium at any point in time during the permitted moratorium period even if the EMIs are already paid; by simply following the process illustrated in question 7.
• The already debited EMI amount will be refunded to customers account within a reasonable time.

11. Will the moratorium facility affect customer’s Credit Rating?

No. Opting for the EMI moratorium will not affect any customers Credit Rating or Score

12. Are all credit card customers eligible for this moratorium?

Yes.

All credit card customers will be deemed eligible for the moratorium if they are :

(a) regular with their payments on or before 01st March'20 on their credit card and loans taken on the credit card

13. If a Credit Card customer enquires about moratorium facility for Credit Card dues and Loans on Credit Cards?

• Yes, the moratorium is available on Credit Card outstanding and Loans availed on Credit Cards for payments due from 01st Mar, 2020 till 31st, May 2020.
• The moratorium allows customer to defer the payment till 31st May, 2020. Inform Customer that they will be required to pay the minimum amount due or total outstanding and accrued interest charges on the due date after 31st May 2020.

14. What is the process of availing moratorium for a Credit Card Customer?

To avail the moratorium on their credit card, customer can –

• Voluntarily defer paying the outstanding during this period i.e. make NIL payment.
• Turn off Auto Pay (in case the same is currently availed) through HDFC Bank NetBanking / Mobile Banking to avail the benefit of the moratorium and reactivate the same post the end of moratorium period

15. Will there be any interest levied for the moratorium period on customers’ credit card outstanding and loan on credit cards?

• Yes, interest will be levied as per the contracted rate on the card. Opting for 3 months moratorium allows customers to defer their Credit Card outstanding payment and loan instalments on their Credit Card till 31st May 2020.
• Please encourage customers to make full payments towards the outstanding wherever possible to avoid/minimise levy of interest charges for this period.

Kindly note, that the EMI moratorium is a deferment of payment and not a waiver of interest. Customer is required to pay the minimum amount due or total outstanding along with accrued interest charges on the due date after 31st May 2020.

16. Is moratorium applicable on Corporate Commercial Credit Card?

• Yes, Moratorium of outstanding / repayments on credit is also applicable on HDFC Bank Corporate /Commercial Credit Card. This is subject to certain eligibility conditions, which will be communicated by the Corporate Credit Card team to the authorised signatory /Cardholder via separate communication