HDFC Bank, Paytm launch Visa-powered credit cards ahead of festive season

HDFC Bank and digital payments firm Paytm said they will launch a range of credit cards powered by Visa in October. The partnership aims to provide one of the widest range of offerings across customer segments, with special focus on millennials, business owners and merchants.

The offering is part of a partnership between IPO-bound Paytm and HDFC Bank, announced  in August. The two will build comprehensive solutions across payments gateway, point of sale machines, and credit products.

The credit cards announced today will be customised to meet distinct needs of retail customers, from new-to-credit users to affluent users and offer rewards and cashback for users. The new cards offering will also facilitate small business owners.

The launch is planned to coincide with the festive season to tap into potentially higher consumer demand for credit card offers, monthly instalments and Buy Now Pay Later options, with the full suite of products to be on offer by the end of December 2021.

With over 51 million credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards and over two million merchants, addressing every market segment, every third rupee spent on cards in India happens on HDFC Bank cards.
 

“As India’s largest card issuing and acquiring bank, we are committed to accelerate the adoption of digitisation in the country. We believe India's growth story is robust and this partnership is an effort on Bank's part to enable consumption, particularly, during festive season, which will further fuel the economic growth of the country," said Parag Rao, Group Head – Payments, Consumer Finance, Digital Banking & IT, HDFC Bank.

The partnership aims to leverage the strengths of both HDFC Bank and Paytm, which have a reach of over 330 million consumers. The alliance will target deeper penetration in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, and enable faster acceleration of digitised payments across the country.

Under the partnership, HDFC Bank and Paytm will introduce the Business credit cards, offering several benefits for merchant partners from the smaller cities and towns of India and enable them to get easier access to credit with instant and paperless approvals. The Business credit cards would mark Paytm’s foray into the credit card segment for its 21 million-strong merchant base.

“At Paytm, we aim to democratise the access to credit to drive financial inclusion amongst our over 330 million consumers and over 21 million merchant partners. With our technological capabilities, Paytm’s merchant partners and India’s new-to-credit millennials will now be able to build a healthy credit profile and gain access to opportunities available in the formal economy," said Bhavesh Gupta, CEO, Paytm Lending.  

The two companies will also introduce an entire range of consumer credit cards, offering cashbacks and benefits, including the Mobile credit card targeted at digital-first millennials. Users can apply through a digital and paperless process and complete the on-boarding process fully through the Paytm app.  

“Consumers and businesses alike are embracing digital payments today. We are proud to partner with Paytm and HDFC Bank and deploy the full suite of Visa solutions and capabilities, as they launch an array of world-class products to tap into the potential of this vast and diverse customer set," said T R Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa.