ICICI Bank, the banking subsidiary of ICICI Ltd. (NYSE: IC and ICD) announced the launch of India's first Credit Card with Internet access to all customers. This launch adds another first to ICICI Group's Internet and e-commerce initiatives. ICICI Bank has pioneered Internet Banking in the country. Recently, ICICI announced the launching of India's first Internet stock trading service on www.icicidirect.com/
The launch marks the foray of ICICI Bank into credit cards. ICICI Bank's credit card holders would have the convenience of accessing credit card information including the facility to view, print statements, obtain details about their payments, outstanding amount and due date, request a duplicate PIN mailer, send instructions, apply for new cards as well as add-on cards, on the Internet. ICICI Group as a part of its "Click and Brick" strategy has been developing multiple access channels including the Internet, Call Centre and VISA affiliated ATMs. It may be recalled that ICICI Bank has had a staggering 500% increase in Internet customers from 4,000 as on March 31, 1999 to 24,000 as on December 31, 1999.
Another major first in India would be the flexibility to the customer to choose a sub-limit for add-on cards, enabling the customer to specify different individual credit limits at both the primary as well as individual add-on card levels. These limits will work as monthly limits, which would get refreshed at monthly billing cycles. This therefore will allow parents to give add-on cards to their children (18 and above) and yet restrict their spending to desired levels. The limits can also be changed at monthly intervals thus offering true flexibility to customers. This powerful feature is expected to eliminate the worry of over spending.
The array of products include:
True Blue : Positioned as an entry level offering, the 'True Blue' card is a value for money card. Targeted at the general segment the card is available at an application fee of Rs. 150 and an annual fee of Rs. 300.
Sterling Silver : A complete family offering from ICICI Bank with a free Add-on Bandhan card along-with comprehensive insurance benefits for both primary as well as supplementary card members. Targeted at the upwardly mobile the card is available at an application fee of Rs. 150 and an annual fee of Rs. 600.
Solid Gold : The International Card with additional comprehensive travel insurance, as well as a Global One Calling Card and a very attractive balance transfer facility. The Solid Gold card is being offered at a special invitation price comprising an application fee of Rs. 300 and an annual fee of Rs. 1200.
The Sterling Silver and Solid Gold cards will also offer a balance transfer facility with a 1.75% Monthly Percentage Rate (MPR) on Sterling Silver and 1.5% MPR on Solid Gold respectively, for the first six months.
A tie-up with VISA has ensured that the domestic cards will immediately have acceptance at over 100,000 outlets in India and the international cards will, in addition, have acceptance at over 18 million merchants and 530,000 ATMs worldwide. The Bank has also set up a 24 hour Call Centre to handle customer queries and built in cash advance facilities at all VISA affiliated ATMs. The Bank has a wide network of branches at 40 centres in India.
ICICI Bank uses Vision Plus, the reputed credit card software from PaySys, USA and Infinity, the Internet Banking software from Infosys. A key feature of Vision Plus is its comprehensive functionality which allows processing starting from application capture, decisions, account management, delinquency and collection handling as well as customer service.
Said Shikha Sharma - Senior General Manager, ICICI, - "The entire project has been executed in record time, with significant investments in hardware and an internationally proven software. We decided to create our own infrastructure for back-office processing in order to ensure delivery of quality service to customers, as also quick innovation and shorter time to market for new products developed in response to changing customer needs."
"VISA is proud to partner with ICICI Bank for the launch of the entire range of credit cards in India. Globally, Visa plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies and was therefore a natural choice for a technology-oriented institution like ICICI. The ICICI Bank cards offer several value-added and web-enabled features that leverage the power of the world's largest payment system and one of India's premier financial institutions," said James G. Murray, Executive Vice President, South East Asia & Greater China, VISA International.
Applicants can apply through the Internet at http://www.icici.com/ or call the ICICI Call Center at 491 3000 in Mumbai.
For further investor queries:
Contact: Mr. Mohan Shenoi on +91-22-6531414 or email to shenoimn@icicibank.com
Except for the historical information contained in this Press Release, statements in this Press Release which contain words or phrases such as "will", "would", "aim", "will likely result", "believe", "expect", "enable", "will continue", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "seek to", "future", "objective", "goal", "project", "should", "will pursue" and similar expressions or variations of such expressions may constitute "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the actual growth in demand for credit cards, our affiliation with VISA, our ability to successfully implement our new initiatives including web based initiatives, our growth and expansion, technological changes, regulatory changes, our exposure to market risks as well as other risks detailed in the reports filed by ICICI Limited (promoter and holding company of ICICI Bank) with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States. ICICI Limited undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof.