Non-banking financial company Poonawalla Fincorp Ltd. has partnered with IndusInd Bank Ltd. to launch a co-branded credit card, ‘IndusInd Bank Poonawalla Fincorp eLITE RuPay Platinum Credit Card'.
The card, which comes with the benefit of no joining or annual fees, gives customers the chance to earn rewards on various spends, including UPI transactions, e-commerce, movie tickets, and so on, according to a media release.
Through this co-branded card, the NBFC aims to not just enhance its digital footprint among existing customers but also acquire new ones.
According to the Reserve Bank of India's master directions on credit card issuances from April 2022, NBFCs registered with the RBI can't undertake credit card business without the prior approval of the regulator.
On September 26, 2023 Poonawalla Fincorp had announced that it received RBI approvals to start a co-branded credit card partnership with IndusInd Bank. The approval is valid for two years, the company had said.
However, the launch of Poonawalla Fincorp and IndusInd Bank co-branded credit cards coincides with recent instances of the RBI's crackdown on co-branded card partnerships, demonstrating the regulator's efforts to review this segment.
For example, in March, the RBI asked the Federal Bank and South Indian Bank to stop the fresh issuance of co-branded credit cards and revise their partnerships with fintechs for this.
NDTV Profit previously reported that this communication had to do with both banks' partnership with OneCard, as the fintech was likely provided access to customer data in the partnership, which goes against the RBI's rules.
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