Do you rely on your credit card for daily purchases, travel perks, or managing your finances? If so, this news is for you. Major banks in India, including SBI Card, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Yes Bank, have recently announced changes to their credit card rules. These adjustments range from fees and benefits to eligibility criteria, directly impacting how you might use your credit card and the benefits you receive. Additionally, users of Paytm Payment Bank services will face new limitations affecting their wallet and banking transactions.
Take a look at the changes that will impact your wallet in the coming days:
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Paytm Payment Bank restrictions from March 15, 2024
Starting March 15, 2024, customers will no longer be able to top-up or transfer money into their wallets, receive credits (excluding cashbacks or refunds), deposit money into their Paytm Payments Bank accounts, receive salary credits, subsidies, or direct benefit transfers, recharge FASTag balances, or transfer money into their Paytm Payments Bank account via UPI/IMPS. These restrictions necessitate customers seeking alternative arrangements for these services before the deadline to avoid inconvenience.
SBI Card Credit card changes
Changes from March 15
SBI Card has revised its interest calculation method. The Minimum Amount Due (MAD) will now be the sum of total GST, EMI amounts, 100% of fees/charges, 5% or 100% of finance charges (whichever is higher), plus retail spends, cash advances, and any over-limit amounts.
Let’s say in a particular billing cycle, you have the following transactions and charges on your SBI Card:
Total GST: Rs 500
EMI Amounts: Rs 2,000
Fees/Charges: Rs 750 (includes a late payment charge of Rs 500 and an annual fee of Rs 250)
Finance Charges: Rs 1,200
Retail Spends: Rs 10,000
Cash Advances: Rs 5,000
Over-limit Amount: Rs 1,000
In this case, the MAD calculation will be:
MAD = Total GST + EMI Amounts + 100% of Fees/Charges + Higher of (5% or 100% of Finance Charges)
MAD = Rs 500 + Rs 2,000 + Rs 750 + Rs 1,200
MAD = Rs 4,450
This means, for that billing cycle, you would need to pay at least Rs 4,450 to avoid falling into the higher penalty bracket or affecting your credit score adversely.
April 1
List of SBI Credit Cards where Reward Points will not be applicable on rent payments from April 1, 2024
Additionally, since March 1, 2024, SBI Card has stopped issuing physical DreamFolks membership cards for AURUM cardholders, shifting towards digital access via their website and app.
ICICI Bank Credit Card changes from April 1
Starting April 1, ICICI Bank customers will enjoy a new complimentary airport lounge access offer. By spending Rs 35,000 in the preceding calendar quarter (January-February-March 2024), cardholders can unlock one complimentary lounge access for the subsequent quarter (April-May-June 2024).
Yes Bank’s new lounge access rules
Yes Bank will no longer extend the “free” benefit to customers for simply holding a basic credit card.
The bank has updated its domestic lounge access policy, setting a new minimum spending requirement of Rs 10,000 in the current quarter for lounge access in the following quarter. This modification takes effect on April 1, 2024.Therefore, individuals who wish to avail of the lounge access benefit in April/May/June 2024 must make the required expenditure in the period from December 21, 2023, to March 20, 2024.
This policy change will impact customers with YES Bank ELITE, YES BYOC, YES Wellness Plus, YES Marquee, YES SELECT, YES Reserv, YES First Preferred, and other credit cards.
Axis Bank credit card changes
Axis Bank has introduced a new fee structure for credit card transactions. Notably, a 1% rent surcharge fee, capped at Rs 1,500, will now be levied on each rental transaction. This is in addition to the Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) markup fee of 1% plus taxes for international transactions involving Indian merchants or transactions in Indian currency overseas. Furthermore, rent and wallet transactions will be excluded from the spends threshold for Milestone benefits and Annual Fee reversals. These revisions came into effect from March 5, 2024.
Apart from the changes mentioned above, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on March 7, directed credit card issuers to offer customers the option to select from multiple card networks. The new guidelines are set to be effective from September 6, 2024.
Furthermore, cardholders will now be given the option to select any date as the starting or closing date of their billing cycle at least once.
