Your rights as a cardholder
What Indian banks must do for credit card holders under the RBI's directions: closing a card, billing, charges, disputes and complaints, each with the rule it comes from.
Your bank must close your card within 7 working days of your request.
You can ask to close your credit card at any time, and the bank must do it within seven working days once your dues are paid. If it is late, it must pay you ₹500 for every day of delay.
A bank cannot send you a credit card you did not ask for.
A bank needs your explicit written or digital consent before it issues you a credit card. If you get a card you never applied for, do not activate it. If you are billed for one, the bank must reverse the charges and pay you twice their amount.
A new card you have not activated for 30 days needs your OTP consent, or it must be closed.
If you have not activated a new card within 30 days, the bank must ask for your consent by one-time password (OTP). If you do not give it, the bank must close the card free of charge within seven working days. A card you never activated cannot be reported to credit bureaus.
Your bank cannot upgrade your card, raise your limit or let you go over it without asking you.
The bank must get your explicit consent before it upgrades your card, raises your credit limit or changes your terms. It cannot let you spend beyond your limit, or charge an over-limit fee, unless you have opted in.
You get a one-page key fact statement with your application, and reasons if you are turned down.
When you apply, the bank must give you a one-page key fact statement showing the important terms, such as the interest rate and the charges. If it rejects your application, it must tell you the specific reasons in writing.
You can change your billing cycle at least once.
You can ask your bank to move your billing cycle to dates that suit you, for example to match your salary date. Every bank must let you do this at least once.
You get at least 15 days to pay your bill, and an answer within 30 days if you dispute it.
Your bill must reach you with at least a fortnight to pay before interest starts. If you question a bill, the bank must explain it, with documents where relevant, within 30 days of your complaint.
Paying only the minimum avoids a late fee but not interest, and interest is charged only on what you still owe.
The minimum amount due keeps your account from being overdue, but if you do not pay the full bill by the due date you lose the interest-free period and pay interest. Interest can only be charged on the amount still outstanding after your payments and refunds, not on the full bill.
Your bank cannot charge interest on unpaid fees, charges or taxes.
If fees, charges or GST on your card are left unpaid, the bank cannot add interest or further charges on them. The minimum amount due must be large enough to cover the interest and charges billed for the month.
A late fee can be charged only if you are more than 3 days past the due date, and only on what is unpaid.
The bank cannot charge a late payment fee until your payment is more than three days past the due date. Once it can, the fee is worked out from the due date on your statement and only on the amount still unpaid, not on the whole bill.
You cannot be reported as overdue to credit bureaus until you are more than 3 days late, and must be told before a default is reported.
The bank can report your card as past due to a credit bureau such as CIBIL only once you are more than three days past the due date. Before reporting you as a defaulter it must tell you, and after you settle it must update the bureau within 30 days.
You get at least a month's notice before charges or terms change, and can leave free of charge.
A bank can change its charges only for the future, after at least one month's notice. If a change is worse for you, you can close the card without any extra charge once your dues are paid. It cannot charge you anything that was not disclosed when the card was issued without your explicit consent.
You can block a lost card at any hour, and pay no charges on a transaction you dispute as fraud.
Your bank must let you report a lost or stolen card or an unauthorised transaction 24 hours a day and block the card yourself, and must confirm the block straight away. While a transaction you have reported as fraud is being looked into, no charges can be levied on it.
Refunds reduce your bill straight away, and you can get a credit balance sent to your bank account.
A refund or failed transaction that is credited before you pay your bill must be adjusted against the amount due immediately. If you have already paid, you can ask for the credit to be sent to your bank account, and the bank must do it within three working days.
If your bank does not resolve your complaint in 30 days, you can go to the RBI Ombudsman.
Complain to your bank first; its grievance officer's contact details must be on your bill. If it does not reply within 30 days, rejects the complaint or you are not satisfied, you can complain to the RBI Ombudsman online at cms.rbi.org.in or by post.
Recovery agents cannot harass you, and sales calls are allowed only between 10 am and 7 pm.
Banks and their recovery agents cannot threaten, humiliate or harass you or your family and friends to collect dues. The bank must tell you the name and contact details of any recovery agent assigned to you, and its sales representatives may call only between 10:00 and 19:00.