HDFC Bank offers 4% rebate on gold to women

HDFC Bank today announced a 4 per cent discount on purchase of gold bars through a gold credit card targeted exclusively to women.

This implies that all women card holders purchasing gold bars from the bank outlets will receive a discount of 4 per cent on the daily gold price quoted by the bank. The bank is also exploring the option of offering sale of silver coins too, subject to regulatory approval.

The bank today launched the women's advantage debit and international gold Visa credit cards.

While the debit cardholders need to pay an annual fee of Rs 150, the bank would charge its new credit cardholders a one-time fee of Rs 2,000. For its existing customers applying for these cards, the one-time fee would be Rs 1,500.

Currently, the total card-base of HDFC Bank stands at 2 million.

Of this, the gold card segment contributes to approximately 30-35 per cent, and the bank now expects at least 50 per cent of the incremental growth in gold credit cards to come from the women customers, said HDFC Bank's vice-president and head- product, portfolio management and credit cards, Parag Rao.

As part of its marketing strategy, HDFC Bank is actively seeking expansion in smaller cities, which account for nearly 20 per cent of its overall business volumes, said the bank's head-credit cards and unsecured loans, Pralay Mondal.

Apart from the vanilla offers such as cash back, insurance cover and zero liability facilities on debit cards, HDFC Bank has included features like concierge services and 50 per cent discount on locker fees for cardholders. Concierge services would include assistance on entertainment, home management and wellness.