Credit Card for NRI
Overview of NRI credit cards:-
A card that allows an Indian to bear his expenses both in his homeland and abroad by a swipe is an NRI credit card. NRI credit cards are a boon to the Indians who have settled abroad.
Features of NRI credit cards:-
1. An NRI can buy items, spend on luxury, travel etc when he is in India and the payment to these expenses will be made in Indian rupee just like any other credit card.
2. The payment of outstanding bills of a credit card has to be made through inward remittances of an account of any of the following types
- NRO
- NRE
- FCNR
This rule applies for credit cards issued by banks in India and this order was passed by an exchange control department of RBI.
3. The use of credit cards on certain expanses is prohibited; expenses like purchase of lottery ticket, sweepstakes ticket purchase, purchase of racing tickets etc. The set of rules will be framed by the bank that provides NRI credit card.
Basic essence of NRI credit cards:-
The applicant must hold an NRE/NRO account with the bank where he/she applies for credit card. Certain banks also fix a minimum limit of money in the account for the person to be eligible to have a credit card. Few basic elements of a credit card commonly seen in market today are listed below.
Fees and charges: There will be set of basic fees and charges like joining fee, annual fee, fee on withdrawals, fee as tax (custom duty) etc. For ex: State Bank of India has a credit card for NRI with a onetime joining fee of Rs.1500, annual fee of Rs.1500, fee on withdrawals in ATMs of 2.5% of the amount withdrawn, customs duty of 2.25% of the amount transacted across border.
Interest rate: Since credit cards are loans offered by banks interest rates on these loans will be applicable as per bank. For ex: Kotak offers an NRI credit card with an interest rate of 3.1% per month, SBI offers it at a rate of 1.99% per month. These interest rates will be calculated from the date of withdrawal.
Usage and additional offers:-
NRI credit cards can be used in our country and also countries across our border.
- Money can be accessed from ATMs across borders from an NRI credit card. SBI NRI cards can be used to access money at over a million visa ATM outlets in different corners of the world including India.
- You can save money on expenses in terms of percentage of expenses. Expenses on fuel, travel in railways, international purchases etc are few areas of offer. Types and number of offers depends on bank; for ex: SBI offers 2% savings on purchases made across borders based on terms and conditions.
- Few NRI credit cards also offer travel insurance with the credit cards. With these insurance policies one is secure from unforeseen losses due to robbery, high jacking etc.
NRI Credit Card Providers:
Quite a few banks in India have started providing this facility to NRIs. Some of them are:
- Kotak Mahindra Bank
- HSBC
- HDFC Bank
Flexibility in spending irrespective of the country is something that NRI credit cards serve. It makes the NRI card holder feel comfortable; it doesn’t matter whether he is traveling overseas or he is in his home town (provided he does not have heavy outstanding bills).
Contributed By: B C Shetty & Co |
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Established in 1985 by Mr.Chandra Shekar Shetty, operating from 3 branches, B.C.Shetty & Co. is a firm dedicated to serving their clients with utmost transperancy by offering qualitative professional service. | |
BR/Sunil