By Angshuman Chatterjee, Head Products, Consumer Credit Cards & Digital Acquisitions, HDFC Bank
The first rule when you have a credit card is that you do not share your credit card number with anybody, do not share the OTP – not even with the Bank. That is private and only relevant for the specific transaction.
Secondly, do not go and give out your credit card information in every link possible. Have some prudence, not every site is going to help you. You should be careful about the spam emails that ask for donations saying someone is sick, or calls asking you to share the last 4 digits of your credit card number to get a new credit card – you have to say no. If there are genuine calls – you will realise it. If you take a fundamental stance that you will say no – you are kind of safe.
At the same time, what the Bank is doing at the backend is constantly working to ensure that your credit card is a very secure way to transact. For eg, for our super premium cards, the reason that they are constantly being used for very large purchases – there is dedicated team that calls you if they see that the purchase pattern does not fit the way you have been using the card. For other cards, there is a team which deals with risk and frauds 24×7.
The bank has created its own IP for the huge management of data and analysis, to see at any given point of time, what are the transactions that are happening that might be a cause for concern – we immediately get back to the customer. We also have Insta-cards. This means that if you feel uncomfortable with a transaction, you hotlist your card, we will be able to give you an Insta-card so that you can start your transactions again.
Another is that you have a credit card which gives you close to 50 days to pay your bills otherwise a charge is levied. The request is try and pay your bill within 50 days so that there are no charges and it continues to be the most convenient thing in your pocket.
If by chance you have been duped as a customer and you have informed the Bank, that is where the Bank completely takes care of the transaction. It will not charge you for a fraudulent transaction, that will be absorbed by the Bank and the process thereof. All systems put together are trying to protect the customer, the request is that the customer does not fall prey to the newer ways and means happening today.
So be careful where you use your card. Not all online links needs you to set up your credit card. Ensure that your OTP is never revealed and ensure that your card is always in your wallet.
As long as you do these fundamental, intuitive important things we are quite sure that it will be a fantastic ride with a credit card.
Being careful always helps and there is no debate on that – there is no option or fallback for it.