Icici Bank Ups Debit Card Base To 2 Lakh

ICICI Bank has managed to increase its debit card customer base to two lakh, making it one of the fastest-growing cards. The card was launched in April this year.

"The debit card base is growing at more than 50,000 cards a month," ICICI Bank's executive director Chanda Kochhar said.

The card has been launched in locations such as Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. By October end, the bank plans to roll out the product in another nine cities including Bhopal, Nagpur and Indore.

The total debit card base in the country is around one million with HDFC Bank leading the pack with around 50 per cent of the market. The list of major players includes Citibank and Centurion Bank. HSBC has been the latest to join the bandwagon.

The industry expects the debit card base to outgrow credit cards in the next few years. The credit card base in the country at present is at around five million.

Citi and StanChart are the two leading players in the credit card market followed by the State Bank of India. More than 50 per cent of the credit card market is controlled by these three players.

The credit card base of ICICI Bank is at around four lakh and the bank is adding around 35,000 customers per month, said Kochhar.

Debit cards can be used as ATM cards too. Those banks which have launched debit cards are either converting their existing customer base into debit card holders or selling the cards to their newer customers.

The advantage for the customer is that he can combine both his debit card and ATM card into one. Kochhar said: "Out of the 50,000 new cards, around 35,000 are new customers."

ICICI Bank is opening around two lakh accounts per month which excludes auto loans, home loans and group products.

Kochhar added: "Customers do not need to carry cash with them as they can pay even their normal day-to-day purchases through the card. In around 35 per cent of the transactions, the spends are up to Rs 300 per month. Housewives can also get an audit trail as they get a full itemised billing."