Private sector lender HDFC Bank hopes to regain its market share in the credit card business in the next three to four quarters after the Reserve Bank of India lifted curbs on the lender from sourcing new customers.
The bank plans to issue three lakh credit cards a month from next month, which will gradually be raised to five lakh a month, said Parag Rao, Group Head - Payments, Consumer Finance, Digital Banking and IT, HDFC Bank, on Monday, in a virtual press conference.
Rao pointed out that although the bank lost its market share by a number of cards, it was able to maintain the market share on initiatives taken to prod users to spend.
"HDFC Bank has over 20 initiatives which will hit the market in the next six to nine months to drive this growth," the lender said in a statement, adding that these include the launch of new co-branded cards with the who's who of Corporate India, spanning sectors such as pharma, travel, FMCG, hospitality, telecom and fintech.
The bank has also revamped its existing range of cards over the past nine months and is also ready with strategic partnerships with new companies, it further said.
The RBI had on August 17 relaxed the restriction placed on the private sector lender on sourcing of new credit cards, which it had imposed eight months earlier in December 2020. The lender will depend on its internal set of customers to grow the number of cards and is also looking at partnering with key players like Paytm to increase its sourcing.
The bank will continue to adopt a conservative approach on the credit front as it goes aggressively on the new business sourcing, Rao said.
Despite the ban, the bank has maintained its leadership position in the credit card segment over the past eight months and has about 3.67 crore debit cards, 1.48 crore credit cards, and about 2134 lakh acceptance points. However, it has lost about six lakh cards since the date of embargo while competitors such as ICICI Bank, SBI Cards, and Axis Bank have gained more customers.
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