SAFE TRANSACTIONS

Mumbai, June 16: Lost your credit card and worried about fraudulent purchases? If you are a StanChart credit cardholder, you can breathe a little easy.

Offering a first-of-its kind service in the domestic credit card industry, Standard Chartered Bank has joined hands with Tata AIG General Insurance Company Ltd to provide a risk cover for lost cards that will protect customers against fraudulent transactions. It’s called the Plus Extended Protection Plan.

The development should cheer cardholders, already burdened with high interest rates. While the lost cards will now be insured against any misuse, the insurance cover will be valid for any fraudulent transaction on a card up to 12 hours prior to the customer reporting the loss.

“We receive several reports of lost cards in a month. The product will ensure protection to our valued customers against any fraudulent use,” Stanchart Chartered’s general manager (credit cards and personal loans), R. L. Prasad, said in a statement.

Standard Chartered Bank, which competes against aggressive players such as ICICI Bank, Citibank, the State Bank of India and ICICI Bank in the credit card segment, hopes to reach out to people who are reluctant to apply for credit cards because of risks.

Gaurav D. Garg, managing director of Tata AIG General Insurance Company Ltd, said, “People are moving away from conventional modes of payment and a large number are opting for cards. This product seeks to encourage the confidence of the people who use credit cards.”

Standard Chartered said that in the event of fraud, customers would receive a reimbursement up to Rs 50,000 per occurrence.

The plan also covers ATM assault and robbery insurance, lost wallet protection, purchase protection and home protection.

Standard Chartered has 90 branches in 33 cities in the country and has a combined customer-base of around 21 lakh. The credit card base in India has expanded in the past few years as banks have turned aggressive and the plastic culture spread among individuals.

Recent figures have put the total outstanding in India at over Rs 19,000 crore. According to Reserve Bank of India data, there are 2.6 crore credit card users in India with ICICI Bank being the market leader.

Though credit card companies offer insurance, it is in the form of a “credit shield” where part of an individual’s outstanding is paid if the cardholder dies or is permanently disabled.