The RBI today warned banks and financial institutions to strictly follow its guidelines on credit cards regarding transparency in charging interest rates and levying other fees on customers or face penal action.
“All banks are once again advised to strictly adhere to the guidelines… both in letter and spirit,” an RBI circular said,adding that the violation would invite penal action.
The RBI has issued fresh directives in view of the numerous complaints from credit card holders,especially with regard to excessive finance charges and issuance of unsolicited cards,it said.
Besides,complaints like charging annual fee on what were being offered as free cards,issuance of loans over phone,disputes over wrong billing,difficulty in accessing the credit card issuers and poor response from the call centres,it said.