Icici Bank Ties Up With Mastercard

ICICI Bank has tied up with MasterCard International to launch ICICI Bank MasterCard credit cards.

At present ICICI Bank's credit card base stands at around 5,50,000, while for debit cards it is 4,50,000.

According to ICICI Bank executive director Chanda Kochhar, "We are the largest card issuers in the market. The bank is adding credit and debit cards at the rate of 1,00,000 per month. The bank had launched the credit card business 23 months back, while the debit card business was started 9 months back."

According to V Vaidyanathan, managing director, ICICI Personal Financial Services Ltd, "The credit card business is growing by 40,000-45,000 cards per month. We are seeing a large number of customers being added in second rung cities and towns. However, there is a fairly good amount of growth even in the metros."

He added, "The debit cards market is under-penetrated even in the metros. There is a large scope for growth in the this segment."

According to Sameer Vakil, MasterCard International's vice-president and country manager, south Asia, Master Card is trying to offer new facilities through its cards.

ICICI Bank credit cards are currently available in 37 cities and the bank plans to increase it to 40 locations. The ICICI Bank MasterCard offers three products -- True Blue, Sterling Silver and Solid Gold.