HSBC INDIA WEALTH AND PERSONAL BANKING (WPB) –
RETAIL CREDIT CARDS
(1) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
HSBC India WPB oers Credit Cards to interested and eligible customers in their individual capacity. Operations of
the Credit Card business are in accordance with prevailing regulatory guidelines as issued by Reserve Bank of India
(most recently and importantly, Master Direction – Credit Card and Debit Card Issuance and Conduct Directions,
2022 dated 21 April 2022) and also per HSBC’s internal policies and procedures.
Product Variants
As of June 2022, HSBC India WPB oers the following range of Credit Cards to eligible individual customers across
the following product variants:
- HSBC Premier Credit Card
- HSBC Platinum Credit Card
- HSBC Cashback Credit Card
- HSBC Smart Value Credit Card (previously referred to as Gold Credit Card)
- HSBC Advance Platinum Credit Card (currently o-sale, managing existing book)
- HSBC MMT Signature Credit Card (currently o-sale, managing existing book)
- HSBC MMT Platinum Credit Card (currently o-sale, managing existing book)
- HSBC Classic Credit Card (currently o-sale, managing existing book)
The above variants are oered to the principal or primary Cardholder (in whose name the card account has been
opened) and also to add-on Cardholders who hold a pre-defined relationship with the primary Cardholder. The add-on
cards shall be issued only to the persons specifically identified by the principal Cardholder. Add-on cards are issued
with the clear understanding that the liability will be that of the principal/primary Cardholder.
As part of the above range of Credit Card products, HSBC WPB oers various instalment options through which
Cardholders can either borrow (within the card limit) or convert their balances and transactions into Equated Monthly
Instalment (EMI) plans. These are oered in the form of:
- Instant EMI
- Cash on EMI
- Balance Transfer
- Loan on phone
- Balance conversion
The above loans oered through credit cards are in compliance with the instructions on loans and advances issued
by the Reserve Bank from time to time.
Addition, withdrawal or modification to any of the above product variants are done in accordance with laid down
regulatory guidelines and HSBC’s product governance framework. This ensures that optimal governance oversight,
compliance and fair business practices are applied to any changes that may impact existing or prospective
Cardholders.
HSBC WPB does not oer or upgrade the customers to any of the above products or variants without the explicit
consent of the customer.
As of June 2022, HSBC WPB does not oer any Charge Cards or Pre-paid cards to individual (retail) customers.
Customer Segments
HSBC oers Credit Cards to New-To-Bank (NTB) and Existing-To-Bank (ETB) customers. These customer segments
may in turn include Card-only (no other product with HSBC), Personal Banking and Premier customers (HSBC sta
are also covered across these customer segments).
Acquisition Channels
HSBC has a multi-pronged acquisition channel strategy covering Mobile Sales Force/Telesales (In-bound/out-bound)/
Branches/Third Party Sales Channels/ATM/Internet Banking/Public Website/Digital channels.
The functioning of all these channels (whether the Bank’s own physical and digital channels, or third party channels)
is carried out as per laid down regulations, including outsourcing guidelines.
The channels that HSBC deploys comply with directions/regulations on the subject issued by the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) from time to time while adhering to guidelines issued on 'Unsolicited Commercial
Communications – National Customer Preference Register (NCPR)'. Our representatives contact customers only
between 10:00 hrs and 19:00 hrs.
This policy document covers most important aspects of the HSBC’s Credit Card business as covered in the Executive
Summary section. These are further explained and elaborated in subsequent sections.
(2) ISSUE OF CREDIT CARDS
(a) CUSTOMER ACQUISITION: Customers who apply for or have an existing HSBC Credit Card are provided clear,
transparent and timely details of all aspects of the product terms and conditions at various stages of their status
with the Bank. These are suitably covered as per RBI’s Master Direction – Credit Card and Debit Card Issuance
and Conduct Directions, 2022 across the following modes of communication:
- Application Form (whether in paper or digital form), including Key Things You Should Know (fact sheet)
- Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC)
- Services Guide
Across the above customer collateral, details of the following aspects of the Credit Card product are covered in
detail:
Fees and charges: As may be applicable from time to time, fees and charges are payable by Cardholders for
specific services provided to the Cardholder or for defaults committed by the Cardholder with reference to his/her
card account.
Tari structure is subject to change from time to time at the discretion of HSBC. Such changes will be made with
prospective eect, giving notice of at least one month.
Important - Illustrative examples of how some of the above fees and charges, especially finance charges and late
payment fee are clearly spelt out in the customer documentation to ensure fair and transparent communication.
Credit Limits: The credit limit and cash withdrawal limit are communicated to cardholders in the monthly card
statement. The available credit limit is provided as part of the monthly statement. Credit limit is the maximum
amount, which can be outstanding against the credit card account at any given time. All details around how these
limits are set and governed, including impact on cardholders are provided in the application form.
Billing and Payments: This section transparently conveys the Bank’s payment hierarchy for application of payments
received from the customer against various components of the total outstanding balance in descending order of
interest rates. This is to ensure fair treatment of customers so that debts (or outstanding balances, fees and charges)
at the highest rate are retired first. Bills/statements are dispatched to cardholders in a timely manner across various
channels including email and mobile/netbanking. The statements clear depict all amounts due, including minimum
and total amount due. Details of this are shown in the Service Guide which is referred to in subsequent sections of
this document.
Customer Default: In the event of default (if the Minimum Amount Due is not paid by the payment due date or
breach of any clause of the Cardholder agreement), HSBC engages with the cardholder through a debt management
strategy that is consistent with fair practices of laid down internal and regulatory guidelines.
Termination: All terms around customer or bank-initiated closure of the card and consequent terms and conditions,
including roles and responsibilities of both parties are conveyed to cardholders. In case of sustained inactivity on the
card, the Bank will close or block the card by giving due notice. Follow on actions such as notification to the credit
bureau (in case of card closure) and refund of any credit balance to the cardholder shall be duly undertaken.
Any request for closure of a credit card will be honoured within seven working days by HSBC, subject to payment of
all dues by the cardholder. Subsequent to the closure of credit card, the cardholder will be immediately notified about
the closure through email, SMS, etc. Failure on the part of HSBC to complete the process of closure within seven
working days will result in a penalty of `500 per day of delay payable to the customer, till the closure of the account
provided there is no outstanding in the account.
Loss/Theft/Misuse of the Card: The Cardholder is expected to notify the Bank immediately on any of these
developments so that suitable actions are taken to protect the interests of the customer and the Bank, in accordance
with laid down chargeback and dispute resolution procedures (including those set up by the card networks such as
Visa, MasterCard, Rupay, etc.).
HSBC will block a lost card immediately on being informed by the Cardholder and formalities, if any, will follow
within seven working days from the date of blocking the card.
Customers are encouraged to read through the above that are explained in detail in HSBC’s Credit Card Application
Form and Most Important Terms and Conditions.
Apart from the above, there are further details in the Services Guide that is displayed on the Bank’s public website
and also provided to cardholders as part of the welcome pack. The Services Guide has extensive and clearly
communicated information across the following aspects of the Credit Card product for the benefit of the Cardholder:
- Key things the customer should know about the Credit Card – as described earlier in this note.
- How to use the HSBC Credit Card, including card activation, contactless payments, PIN & OTP (for oine and
online transactions), international usage, etc.
- How to avoid misuse of the Credit Card.
- Credit Cardholder Privileges which cover extended credit facility, rewards programme, lost card liability,
instalment programmes, ATM access, foreign exchange entitlement (in accordance with FEMA guidelines),
internet/phone banking, add-on card facilities, etc.
- Monthly Statement – which covers how cardholders should read and interpret various sections of the statement.
This includes examples for easy understanding.
- Settlement of outstanding of overseas transactions.
- Payment Options – various modes to pay the dues back to the Bank.
- Tari Sheet.
- Finance Charge Illustration.
- Late Payment Charge Illustration.
- Payment Hierarchy.
- Summary of key features and terms.
- Detailed Terms and Conditions of HSBC Credit Card – Cardholders are clearly informed that before they use the
HSBC Credit Card, they should read these terms and conditions carefully. By using the credit card, they accept
the terms and conditions set out in this section and will be bound by them. The terms may be altered by the card-
issuer, but 30 days’ notice of the change shall be given to the Cardholder to enable him/her to withdraw if he/
she so chooses. After the notice period of 30 days, the cardholder would be deemed to have accepted the terms
if he/she had not withdrawn during the specified period. The change in terms shall be notified to the Cardholder
through suitable communication channels available.
- Banking Codes and Standards Board of India – This is a Code of Customer Rights, which sets minimum
standards of banking practices we will follow as a member of BCSBI while dealing with individual customers. It
provides protection to customers and explains how a member bank is required to deal with customers in its day-
to-day operations.
- The Code does not replace or supersede regulatory or supervisory instructions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
and we will comply with such instructions/ directions issued by RBI from time to time.
- Your Voice Matters – This section provides our customers with details to raise any grievances or provide feedback
to the Bank.
Further details of all the above are available under the relevant various sections/artefacts displayed on the Bank’s
public website.
Examples of these are:
services-guide.pdf
application-platinum-smartvalue-primaryapplicants.pdf
(b) RISK AND UNDERWRITING STANDARDS: HSBC is a fair practice lender and follows robust lending
guidelines to assess credit worthiness of customers to protect the financial system – across the borrower,
lender and banking ecosystem as a whole. This is done through a well-laid out set of credit and underwriting
policies that are aligned with the Bank’s strategy, customer segmentation and risk appetite. This also covers
other associated aspects of this framework such as our debt management processes (collections and recovery
of unpaid dues) and reporting of such accounts to credit information companies (credit bureaus). The decision
to grant credit card facilities and to subsequently alter the terms of the facility (upgrade/downgrade, change
of limits, withdrawal of facilities, extended credit facility, etc.) are based on the repayment track record of the
cardholder which is assessed through a combination of information/documents supplied by the customer, their
credentials on the credit bureau and any other underwriting assessment which could be based on subjective or
scorecard based models.
The decision for issue of credit card to a customer remains only with the Bank and the role of third party sales agents
is limited to soliciting/servicing the customer/account.
These policies are reviewed from time to time with adequate management oversight and are governed by laid down
regulatory guidelines.
(3) INTEREST RATES AND CHARGES
In line with the Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Interest Rate on Advances) Directions, 2016 banks
are required to layout appropriate internal principles and procedures to ensure that usurious interest, including
processing charges and other charges, are not levied by Banks. Additionally, in accordance with internal Group
guidelines, any changes to pricing of loan/card products goes through a robust internal governance process set out
by HSBC.
Some of the major fees and charges levied on HSBC Credit Cards are:
Annual and Joining Membership Fees – These fees may be applicable on the primary and add-on credit card(s).
These fees may vary depending on the oer under which the HSBC Credit Card has been availed of by the
Cardholder.
Cash Advance Fee – The Cardholder has access to cash, round the clock, at HSBC/VISA ATMs in India and overseas.
A transaction fee as a % of the transaction amount is levied.
Late payment charge will be applicable if minimum payment due is not paid by the payment due date.
Over-limit charges are applicable in the event of total outstanding exceeding the credit limit assigned.
Finance charges – Cardholders can avail of the ‘extended credit facility’ by paying the Minimum Payment Due
(MPD) indicated in the monthly credit card statement. The MPD is calculated as 5% of the total payment due of the
statement plus greater of Past Due amount or Over limit amount (if any). Interest is charged on the extended credit
as per terms and conditions.
Finance Charge – Finance charge is charged only to those customers who do not pay their outstanding in full by the
due date and revolve on their credit card outstanding. Finance charge is levied on customers only after the free credit
period (up to 48 days) has elapsed. Finance charges on cash advances are levied immediately to oset the loss of
interchange income (earned on every purchase transaction) and to oset the high risk nature of the transaction.
The primary reasons for levying finance charges are to cover:
- Cost of funds
- Loan impairment charges
- Other operational expenses
The finance charge varies for dierent card types and typically ranges from 1.99% p.m. to 3.5% p.m.
As a feature of the Smart Value Credit Card, WPB has also introduced dynamic risk based pricing. The finance
charge levied on the card is dynamic and can vary between 1.99%* per month (23.88%* per annum) – 3.49% per
month (41.88%* per annum) computed from the date of transaction.
*Rate of interest is subject to the Bank’s periodic review and is decided based on the customer’s performance on
existing HSBC products and information related to other lending products, received from the credit bureau.
Other interest, fees and charges – Interest is also levied on balances on the credit card that have been converted into
instalments (EMIs) by the customer. The following EMI facilities are granted:
- Instant EMI
- Cash on EMI
- Balance Transfer
- Loan on phone
- Balance conversi
on
These balances are within the line of credit sanctioned to the cardholder. Interest rates applicable range from 10.99%
to 24% p.a. and may change from time to time. Details of applicable interest rates, fees and charges and applicable
taxes are clearly communicated to customers across various documents and material.
Fees and charges are levied depending on the nature of service oered to the customer such as, extended credit
facility and delayed/unsuccessful payment. Due to the nature of the product, service charges are levied to cover the
high systems, processing and administrative expenses incurred by the Bank.
All the above fees and charges are reviewed periodically at the Bank’s governance forum including the Interest Rate
on Advances – Spread Policy approved by the Asset Liability Committee. These fees and charges form part of the
tari sheet that is embedded in the MITC, application form and services guide.
(4) CUSTOMER CONDUCT AND GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL
The grievance redressal policy of the Bank for handling customer complaints (including the ones laid down in the
Master Direction – Credit Card and Debit Card Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022) is available on the home page
on the website (PWS) and is approved by the Board. This is reviewed annually during which Executive Committee
members are invited to review and approve the Grievance Policy Mechanism for the Bank.
The Bank’s Grievance Redressal policy follows the following principles:
1. Customers are treated fairly at all times.
2. Complaints raised by customers are dealt with courtesy and in a timely manner.
3. Customers are informed of avenues to escalate their complaints within the organization, and their rights if they
are not satisfied with the resolution of their complaints.
4. Complaints are treated eciently and fairly.
5. The Bank employee
s work in good faith and without prejudice, towards the interests of the customers.
An escalation framework is in place for customers to raise their complaints and issues (including matters on mis-
selling of cards, collections practices, etc.) and this also has the turn-around time for addressing such complaints.
This is spread across:
Level 1 – website, PhoneBanking, branches etc.
Level 2 – Nodal Ocers for each region and/or Code Compliance Ocers
Level 3 – Principal Nodal Ocer and other Senior Management executives
Escalation to the Banking Ombudsman
(5) CUSTOMER PROTECTION AND CONFIDENTIALITY
As a bank, HSBC is used to thinking about security. The growth of the internet, cards ecosystem and newer payment
platforms has oered greater flexibility to customers, but it also brings new risks that must be guarded against. At
HSBC, we use industry standard security technology and practices, focusing on three key areas – privacy, technology
and identification – to safeguard your account from any unauthorised access. The Bank has taken suitable measures
to address these risks – through a combination of checks at our end and also through heightened customer
education.
These are covered as part of the HSBC Safeguard programme and also other ongoing initiatives that are prominently
displayed on our website under the sections:
Security Centre | Help and Support – HSBC IN
Online Security and secure usage tips | Help – HSBC IN
We also make it easy for our Cardholders to raise disputes or report misuse of the card through PhoneBanking or
through online modes – Online dispute form (hsbc.com)
Also, we do not reveal any information relating to customers obtained at the time of opening the account or issuing
the card to any other person or organisation without obtaining their explicit consent, with regard to the purpose(s)
for which the information will be used and the organisations with whom the information will be shared. We ensure
strict compliance to the extant legal framework on data protection. Further, in case where the customers give explicit
consent for sharing the information with other agencies, we explicitly state and explain clearly to the customer the
full meaning/implications of the disclosure clause. The information sought from customers is of such nature which
not will violate the provisions of law relating to maintenance of secrecy in the transactions. This is clearly laid down
in the application form under sections labelled as Declaration, Disclosures and Customer Consent.
This Board approved policy is in accordance with the RBI Master Direction – Credit Card and Debit Card –
Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022 RBI/2022-23/92 DoR.AUT.REC.No.27/24.01.041/2022-23 April 21,
2022, details of which can be seen on: 92MDCREDITDEBITCARDC423AFFB5E7945149C95CDD2F71E9158.PDF
(rbi.org.in)
For additional ease of reference to our customers (Cardholders), HSBC has also hosted an FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions) section on the public website – FAQs for Credit Cards | Help and Support - HSBC IN. This section is
refreshed periodically and will revised to also reflect ongoing changes on account of internal guidelines or regulatory
changes.
Issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, India. Incorporated in Hong Kong SAR with limited liability.
CC_HSBC WPB Policy_INM Credit Cards_06/2022
