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IDFC First Bank's MFI stress to bottom out in the next 2 quarters
Subrata Panda Anupreksha Jain Mumbai
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IDFC First Bank expects stress in its microfinance book to bottom out in the next couple of quarters, after which it will start growing its book, albeit in a measured way, said V. Vaidyanathan, MD & CEO, IDFC First Bank. He added that the bank will put the proposal of the board set to Warburg Pincus's arm – Currant Sea Investments B.V. – to vote in the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM), after reworking the terms to make it acceptable to shareholders. The bank is confident that it will secure the required votes this time.
'In microfinance, the environment was
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Business Standard
5 hours ago
- Business Standard
RBI to simplify claim process for deposits, lockers of deceased customers
The move is aimed at making settlement of claims or return of articles from a locker smooth for relatives after the death of a customer Anupreksha Jain Mumbai The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to standardise the procedure for settlement of claims with regard to deposit accounts, and articles kept in safe deposit lockers of deceased bank customers, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said during his monetary policy outcome speech. The move is aimed at making settlement of claims or return of articles from a locker smooth for relatives after the death of a customer. 'We will be standardising the procedure for settlement of claims in respect of bank accounts, and articles kept in safe custody or safe deposit lockers of deceased bank customers. This is expected to make settlement more convenient and simpler,' Malhotra said. As the procedures vary from bank to bank, they need to adopt a simplified procedure to facilitate hassle-free settlement of claims made by survivors or nominees or legal heirs. 'With a view to enhance customer service standards, it has been decided to streamline the procedures and standardise the documentation to be submitted to the banks,' the RBI said. Additionally, banks should focus on automation (the amount should be directly transferred to the nominee's account) and reducing manual reliance to cut the turnaround time. Bankers pointed out that quite often nominees do not have accounts in the same bank as of the deceased person, leading to delay in the process. Hence, they suggested a proper integration within banks to make the process easier for the nominee. 'Sometimes what happens is the nominee's surname does not match with the deceased person or the nominee may have a different surname in the PAN card and the Aadhaar card, which hinders the process to a large extent. So, it should be clearly defined what documents are required and proper integration among banks is needed. This would ensure that the amount can be transferred from the account of the nominee,' said a senior official with Bank of Baroda. Additionally, banks may plan to develop a portal similar to UDGAM, RBI's website for unclaimed deposits. The UDGAM portal helps individuals and legal heirs to search for unclaimed deposits across multiple banks in India. It helps people to locate and recover unutilised funds held in bank accounts. In case a nominee/legal heir is missing, banks should actively reach out to the family of the deceased within a set timeline as decided in a centralised policy, said bankers. 'If the timeline is fixed for settlement, it can speed up the process and also reduce the burden. For instance, the timeline may say that from the day of death of the customer until 15 days or a month, banks have to reach out to the family of the deceased and ask them to claim the deposits. Also, municipal corporations should cooperate with banks in providing death certificates and other details,' said a senior official at Bank of Maharashtra.
Mint
9 hours ago
- Mint
IDFC First Bank Ashva Credit Card: 4 travel benefits you should know
When choosing a travel credit card, what will you look for? A zero/low forex fee, complimentary lounge access, accelerated reward points on travel spends, higher redemption rate on travel, etc.? The IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card provides all these benefits. In this article, we will look at the travel and other features and benefits of this credit card and understand why it is a good travel credit card. Overall, the IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card is a good lifestyle credit card. However, let us first focus on the travel-related features and benefits of this credit card. The IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card is one of the few credit cards that offer complimentary access to domestic airport lounges and spas, international lounges, and railway lounges. The cardholder must spend Rs. 20,000 in the previous month to unlock complimentary airport lounge access in the current month. The cardholder can enjoy four complimentary visits per quarter to select airport lounges and spas in Indian airports (domestic and international terminals). The cardholder can enjoy two complimentary visits per quarter to airport lounges at select airports outside India. The airport lounge access can be shared between the primary and all add-on cardholders. The cardholder can enjoy complimentary food and beverages and/or relax at the lounge while waiting for their flight. To access the lounge, the cardholder must present their Ashva Credit Card or DreamFolks Card and a valid air ticket or boarding pass. The Airport Spa Services program is applicable at select spa centres located at airport locations in India. To avail of the complimentary spa services, the customer must present the DreamFolks privilege card and the boarding pass at the spa counter. The spa services that can be availed include foot reflexology, head or shoulder massage, and upper back massage. The cardholder can avail of any one of the services in a complimentary visit. The cardholder can enjoy four complimentary visits per quarter at participating railway lounges in India. The cardholder must spend Rs. 20,000 in the previous month to unlock complimentary railway lounge access in the current month. To access the lounge, the cardholder must present their credit card and a valid train ticket at the lounge reception. An eligible cardholder can use their complimentary visit quota to bring one guest into the railway lounge at no extra cost. The guest must present their valid train ticket and any Government-issued ID card at the lounge reception. The complimentary access to the railway lounge includes two hours of lounge stay, AC comfortable seating arrangements, one buffet meal, unlimited tea and coffee, free Wi-Fi, access to newspapers and magazines, etc. To see the list of participating domestic and overseas airport lounges, domestic airport spas, and railway lounges, visit the IDFC FIRST Bank website. The Ashva Credit Card charges a lower foreign exchange mark-up fee of 1% + GST. Most credit cards from most banks usually charge a foreign exchange mark-up fee of up to 3.5% + GST. Thus, you can save money on international transactions with this credit card. The Ashva Credit Card provides 5 reward points for every Rs. 150 spent on eligible spends up to Rs. 20,000 in a monthly statement cycle. The card provides 10 reward points for every Rs. 150 spent on eligible incremental spends above Rs. 20,000 in a monthly statement cycle. The card provides bonus reward points on flights and hotel bookings done through the 'Travel & Shop' section on the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App as follows. Travel bookings Bonus reward points per Rs. 150 spent Hotel bookings 50 reward points Flights 30 reward points Thus, a cardholder can earn 60 reward points on hotel bookings (50 bonus reward points + 10 base reward points) for every Rs. 150 spent. The 10 base reward points have been considered assuming the cardholder has already spent Rs. 20,000 on eligible spends in the statement cycle and is now eligible for 10 reward points/Rs. 150 spent on incremental spends in the remaining statement cycle. Similarly, the cardholder can earn 40 reward points on flight bookings (30 bonus reward points + 10 base reward points) for every Rs. 150 spent. The bonus reward points will be credited by the 5th of the next calendar month, post completion of travel (in case of flights) or check-in (in case of hotels). An Ashva Credit Card holder can earn a maximum of 15,000 bonus reward points in a calendar month. The redemption value of each Ashva Credit Card reward point is Rs. 0.40 on travel bookings (hotel & flights) done through the 'Travel & Shop' section on the IDFC FIRST Bank Mobile App. The value of 1 reward point is Rs. 0.25 for all other redemption options. By redeeming reward points for travel bookings, an Ashva Credit Cardholder can get a value back of up to 16% as follows. a) Redemption of reward points earned from hotel bookings: When the Ashva Credit Cardholder does a paid hotel booking from the 'Travel & Shop' section, they can earn up to 60 reward points/Rs. 150 spent as explained in the earlier section. It translates into 40 reward points for every Rs. 100/spent. When the cardholder redeems these 40 reward points on the 'Travel & Shop' section for flights or hotel bookings, they get a redemption value of Rs. 0.40/reward point. It means the cardholder will get a value of Rs. 16 for these 40 reward points. Thus, the cardholder will earn a 16% value back on the redemption of reward points earned from hotel bookings. b) Redemption of reward points earned from flight bookings: Similarly, when the cardholder does a paid flight booking from the 'Travel & Shop' section, they can earn up to 40 reward points/Rs. 150 spent as explained in the earlier section. It translates into 26.67 reward points for every Rs. 100/spent. When the cardholder redeems these 26.67 reward points on the 'Travel & Shop' section for flights or hotel bookings, they get a redemption value of Rs. 0.40/reward point. It means the cardholder will get a value of Rs. 10.67 for these 40 reward points. Thus, the cardholder will earn a 10.67% value back on the redemption of reward points earned from flight bookings. The Ashva Credit Cardholder can pay up to 70% of the travel booking value on the 'Travel & Shop' section through reward points. The balance amount must be paid with the Ashva Credit Card. A maximum of 1 lakh reward points can be redeemed in a calendar month for making travel bookings on the 'Travel & Shop' section. Similarly, a maximum of 2 lakh reward points can be redeemed in a calendar year for making travel bookings. As discussed in the earlier sections, the IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card gives good travel benefits. Now, let us look at some lifestyle benefits that the card offers. BOGO offer on movies: The card provides a Buy One, Get One (BOGO) offer on movie tickets. The cardholder can get a maximum discount of Rs. 400 on the second movie ticket. The BOGO offer can be availed of two times in a calendar month for movie tickets booked on the District App. The card provides a Buy One, Get One (BOGO) offer on movie tickets. The cardholder can get a maximum discount of Rs. 400 on the second movie ticket. The BOGO offer can be availed of two times in a calendar month for movie tickets booked on the District App. Complimentary golf access: The cardholder can enjoy up to 24 complimentary golf rounds or lessons per year. The cardholder must spend the specified amount to unlock the golf access. The cardholder can enjoy up to 24 complimentary golf rounds or lessons per year. The cardholder must spend the specified amount to unlock the golf access. Fuel surcharge waiver: The cardholder gets the 1% fuel surcharge waiver (maximum waiver of Rs. 300/month) at all fuel stations across India. The waiver applies to fuel transactions between Rs. 200 and Rs. 5,000. The joining and annual renewal fee on the Ashva Credit Card is Rs. 2,999 + Taxes. The cardholder can get Rs. 2,000 cashback as joining benefits. The cardholder will get a cashback of Rs. 500 for every transaction of Rs. 500 or above for 4 transactions. The cashback offer is valid for the first 60 days after the virtual credit card is generated. If the cardholder spends Rs. 8 lakhs in a card anniversary year, they will get 7,500 reward points (worth Rs. 3,000) on the payment of the annual renewal fee. After the card renewal date, the reward points will be credited on the following statement generation date. The Ashva Credit Card has good travel benefits like complimentary domestic and overseas airport lounge access, domestic airport spa access, railway lounge access, a low forex mark-up fee of 1%, up to 50 bonus reward points/Rs. 150 spent on travel, higher redemption rate for travel, etc. The card also offers lifestyle benefits, like a BOGO offer on movies, complimentary golf access, a fuel surcharge waiver, etc. Thus, the IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card is a good travel card as well as a good lifestyle credit card. So, if you are a frequent traveller, you may consider the IDFC FIRST Bank Ashva Credit Card. Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn. Disclaimer: Mint has a tie-up with fintechs for providing credit; you will need to share your information if you apply. These tie-ups do not influence our editorial content. This article only intends to educate and spread awareness about credit needs like loans, credit cards, and credit scores. Mint does not promote or encourage taking credit, as it comes with a set of risks such as high interest rates, hidden charges, etc. We advise investors to discuss with certified experts before taking any credit. For all personal finance updates, visit here.
Mint
10 hours ago
- Mint
IDFC FIRST Bank raises the bar with credit cards offering interest as low as 8.5% p.a.
IDFC FIRST Bank has disrupted the Indian credit card market by offering interest rates starting as low as 8.5% per annum (0.71% per annum), this figure is significantly below the industry average of 34-46%. The move is aimed at making credit more attractive and accessible with dynamic Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) tailored to each customer's credit profile, ensuring fairness and transparency as reported by PTI. Following its 'Customer First' philosophy, the bank is also providing lifetime-free credit cards designed to suit a variety of spending patterns and income levels. For example, FIRST Classic and FIRST Millennia cards provide movie discounts of up to ₹ 100 per month, while premium cards like FIRST Select and FIRST Wealth provide benefits such as complimentary airport lounge access and low forex markup. Hence, for new-to-credit users, the FIRST WOW! A credit card, backed by a fixed deposit, provides an easy and secure entry point into the world of credit. Reward points that never expire, giving cardholders complete freedom of redemption. Interest-free ATM cash withdrawals for up to 45 days, providing emergency liquidity without extra costs. Personalised APRs based on individual creditworthiness and repayment capacity. A seamless, digitally managed experience through the bank's mobile application, ranked India's number 1 by Forrester. Therefore, the bank's efforts align with the RBI's guidelines promoting fair and transparent lending. Hence, with this move, IDFC FIRST Bank not only eases financial pressure on consumers but also focuses on redefining what responsible and customer-oriented credit should be. For more details and to explore the full range of offerings, visit the official IDFC FIRST Bank website. For all personal finance updates, visit here. Disclaimer: Mint has a tie-up with fintechs for providing credit; you will need to share your information if you apply. These tie-ups do not influence our editorial content. This article only intends to educate and spread awareness about credit needs like loans, credit cards, and credit scores. Mint does not promote or encourage taking credit, as it comes with a set of risks, such as high interest rates, hidden charges, etc. We advise investors to discuss with certified experts before taking any credit.
