Checkout Key Highlights of RBI’s New User Friendly Guidelines for Credit and Debit Cards (April 2022)

The RBI announced new rules regarding Issuance and Conduct Directions of Credit and Debit Cards yesterday i.e. 21st April 2022. As per these, card issuers such as banks, third-party apps (OneCard, PostPe, Dhani, Simpl, LazyPay, etc), and other financial service providers must follow these rules or are liable to a penalty.

These new rules must come into effect by 1st July 2022 as RBI has set this deadline for card issuers. We have highlighted some of the Key Guidelines which will be useful to card holders.

• Your Credit Card Closing request must be honored within 7 working days provided there are no outstanding payments on the card. If not then you will be paid ₹500/day as penalty. For Debit Cards there is no penalty.

• Card Issuers should have multiple channels for Credit/Debit Card Closing requests such as IVR, Email, Helpline, Mobile App, website, etc. They cannot insist on sending a closure request via post/courier (HDFC has this).

If a card has not been used for more than a year, it shall be closed after intimating the cardholder, within a period of 30 days post intimation. There are more reasons to use it with the latest Credit Card offers!

After the closure of a credit card, any credit balance available on the card must be transferred to the card holder's bank account. Here are some Bank offers for you worth a checkout!

Now, you will get a one-time option to modify the billing cycle/bill date as per your convenience. Currently, some banks do offer this option.

A refund processed before the due date must be considered as a payment and the outstanding amount to be adjusted accordingly and notified. This is definitely worth it as each bank has its own set of rules for Refunds & Payments.

You will not get unsolicited offers for loans or other credit facilities without your explicit consent. This rule might also include soliciting for products such as insurance.

You can also go through RBI’s official Master Direction – Credit Card and Debit Card – Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022 document for all the details. What do you think of these new rules? Please do share below.