India credit cards

Credit cards around the world: India

A look at credit card use in the world's second most populous nation

By Matt Schulz

This is the third in an ongoing series of reports looking at credit card use around the world. In this edition, we look at credit cards in India, but we'll be spanning the globe in the coming weeks and months to feature other nations.

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Credit reportCredit card penetration
22 milion credit cards and 70 million debit cards as of January 2007.Not yet hooked on plastic...
According to Visa research, only 28 percent of "affluent" Indians have credit cards, a fraction of the average around the world. As of 2006, credit cards accounted for just 1 percent of all purchases in India -- one of the lowest percentages in the world. Plastic purchases totalled only $6 billion that year....But debt is still booming
Credit card debt increased 87 percent from May 2007 to May 2008, totalling roughly US$5.7 billion. It tripled from 2004 to 2007.Interest rates are through the roof
The Washington Post says, "The lowest credit card interest rates hover around 20 percent [in India], and the average lending rate is 34 percent, which includes a 12 percent service tax on the interest."Cards and crime"Most audacious cyber-crime in history"
Recently, an Indian hacker allegedly teamed with the Russian mafia to steal the identities of an estimated eight million people. Authorities said the losses surrounding it could total £3 billion and called it "the most audacious cyber-crime in history."A problem for Indian banks...
A recent survey on security at Indian financial institutions revealed that 30 percent of banks claimed to have been hit by identity theft -- most commonly phishing scams -- in the past year....That most aren't urgently addressing
Still, the survey also said that "only one- third of respondent banks have a formal plan in place for creating customer awareness against online identity theft and financial frauds."Local voicesOfficial tourism site
- IncredibleIndia.org Top financial news sites
- Financial Express
- Economic Times Indian financial blogs
- Personal Finance in India
- India Credit Card
- India Economy Watch Country infoPrime Minister: Manmohan SinghLocation: Southern Asia between Burma and Pakistan (map)Population: 1.15 billion (July 2008)Area: 3.2 million sq km, 1.3 million sq miGDP: $2.989 trillion (2007)Key exports: petroleum products, textiles, jewelryFamous Indians: Spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, president Jawaharlal Nehru, musician Ravi Shankar, actress Aishwarya Rai

Published: September 23, 2008


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Credit Card Rate Report

Updated: 02-09-2012

National Average	14.91%
Low Interest	10.40%
Balance Transfer	12.60%
Business	13.13%
Student	13.77%
Cash Back	14.45%
Airline	14.54%
Reward	14.73%
Instant Approval	15.49%
Bad Credit	23.41%

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		Thursday, February 9th 2012