Credit Card FAQs

Credit Card refers to a plastic card assigned to a cardholder, usually with a credit limit, that can be used to purchase goods and services on credit or to obtain cash advances. Credit card is a facility provided by a bank or non-banking financial company (NBFC).

The bank is required to explain the relevant terms and conditions such as fees, charges and applicable interest rates, billing and payment, method of computation of overdues, renewal and termination procedures, and any other information that may be required to operate the card. The bank is required to give a copy of the Most Important Terms and Conditions (MITC) of applicable to the credit card at the time of application.

The card will be activated as and when the PIN has been generated. The PIN can be generated through Mobile Application or Web Portal.

Our Bank has adopted Green PIN for Credit Cards and shall not be sending any physical PIN mailers to the Customers. The Card holder has 2 options for generating the PIN for his / her Credit Card –
(a) Login to https://creditcards.saraswatbank.co.in / Click on the Credit Cards tab on the Bank’s website www.saraswat.bank.in or
(b) Download the Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd. Credit Card Mobile Application from Google Playstore (Saraswat Co-operative Bank Card) and follow registration process for a New User.

Once the Card holder has his / her PIN, the Card is activated and can be used for transacting across various channels such as POS, E-Comm, etc. The Card holder can change / reset his / her PIN using the same options as stated above

M-PIN is the 4-digit password used for accessing the Credit Card Mobile Application.

1. Balance Outstanding is the amount you owe on your purchases made with your credit card, it is the amount outstanding for your repayment, a portion of it is the minimum repayment that must be settled, otherwise an interest is charged on the repayment.
2. Available Credit Limit is the difference between your credit limit and total amount due. If your credit limit is Rs. 50,000/- and you have spent Rs. 1,500/-, your available credit limit will be Rs. 48,500/-. This amount is calculated after considering both the Billed and Unbilled transactions.
3. Cash Limit pertains to the maximum amount which can be withdrawn in Cash through ATMs using your Credit Card.
4. Total Amount Due on Card is the amount payable for the transactions done through the card upto the Billing Date. This amount may or may not be equal to the Outstanding Balance on the Card depending on the transaction dates.
5. Minimum Amount Due is the amount which is required to be paid to ensure that the Credit Card facility remains in force.

The Cash Limit shall be restricted to a maximum of 40% of the Credit Card Limit. The Cash Limit shall be reflected in the Card Welcome Letter as well as in the Card Statement.

1. Billing Period pertains to a 1 month cycle for recording Credit Card transactions.
2. Billing Date shall be the end of the Billing Period. The Monthly Credit Card Statement shall be generated on this date.
3. Due Date is the date by which the Card holder shall have to make the payment of the Credit Card dues.
4. Due date for payment of Bill shall be as per card varients adhering up to 50 days interest free credit period. 
5. Cardholders have been provided a one time option to modify the billing cycle of the Credit Card.

Every Billing Statement shall reflect 2 types of Amount Dues i.e. the Total Amount Due (TAD) and Minimum Amount Due (MAD).

Total Amount Due (TAD) is calculated as under –
Outstanding balance of previous month + Amount of spends during the billing period + EMI for the current month (pertaining to transactions done in earlier billing periods) + Interest Charges (if any) + Charges (if any) – Amount of transactions converted to EMI mode (pertaining to transactions done in current billing period) – Payment received during the billing period.

Minimum Amount Due (MAD) is calculated as under –
5% of total outstanding amount (Minimum Rs. 200/-) + 100% of outstanding charges and other charges  + EMI (in case of EMI based transactions) .

If payment for the Total Amount Due (TAD) is made before the Payment Due Date, then no interest charges are applicable. Hence, the Card holder can enjoy an interest-free credit from the date of purchase to the date on which the payment is due. The Interest-free period could range from a minimum of 15 days upto maximum of 50 days depending on the date of purchase.

Interest shall be charged if the Card holder does not pay the Total Amount Due (TAD) by the payment due date. In such cases, the Interest shall be charged on the Total Amount Due (TAD) and on all new transactions till such time as the previous outstanding amounts are paid in full. Also, interest will be levied on all cash advances from the date of the transaction until the date of settlement.

Late payment fee is charged on the credit card in the following scenarios:

1. If the minimum amount due is received after the due date.
2. No payment is received.
3. Payment received till the due date is less than the minimum amount due.

Example,
Statement Date - 10th of every month
Transaction done between 11-10-2017 till 10-11-2017
Retail Purchase of Rs. 5,000 on 13-10-2017
Online Purchase of Rs. 10,000 on 23-10-2017

Assuming no previous balance is carried forward from the statement dated 10-10-2017, the cardholder will get his statement dated 10-11-2017 showing transactions of Rs. 15,000. The Cardholder needs to make payment against the outstanding by 25-11-2017 i.e. Due Date (15 days from the Statement Date), for anything between the entire amount or Minimum Amount Due. If the cardholder does not make the payment of the Minimum Amount Due or more by 25-11-2017, he would be charged a Late Payment Charge of Rs. 250. GST will be applicable on late payment Charges.

The following illustration will indicate the method of calculating finance charges.
Assume that you have paid all previous dues in full and do not have any amount outstanding in your Credit Card Account. Your Card Statement date is 10th of every month. Transaction period between 11-10-17 till 10-11-17, with due date as 25-11-17. The following is the list of transactions you have done on your Card account

**ROI considered @1.25% p.m. for illustration purpose. Actual ROI – Refer to the latest Charges Schedule
Thus, on the statement Date 10-12-17, the following will reflect as the components of the total amount payable by you:

Interest Calculated = (outstanding amount x 1.25% pm x 12 months x no of days) / 365

Therefore,

• a) Interest on 1,900 @ 1.25% pm from 7th Nov. to 2nd Dec. (i.e. 26 days) = 20.30
  Interest on 300 (2,000-1,700) @ 1.25% pm from 3rd to 10th Dec (i.e. 8 days) = 0.99
  Interest on 600 @1.25% pm from 28th Nov to 10th Dec. (i.e. 13 days) = 3.21
  Thus, total interest of Rs. 24.50
• b) Late payment charges = Rs. 250
• c) Total principal amount outstanding = Rs. 900.00
  (600 fresh spend + balance 300 outstanding from last month's billing period)
  Hence, total Amount Due = (a) + (b) + (c) = Rs. 1,174.50

A billing statement is a periodic (usually monthly) statement that lists all the     purchases, payments and other debits and credits made to your credit card account within the billing cycle. At the very least, it’s a statement showing your balance, minimum payment, total amount due and the list of transactions made to your account.

The Card holder can view the Card Statement by logging in to his Card Account through the web portal by using his / her login credentials. He / She can also access the Card Statement through the Credit Card Mobile Application.

The Card holder can retrieve past statements / earlier transaction details from the Mobile Application or Web portal.

• 1. One Page Internet Banking (To pay now https://onepage.saraswatbank.co.in/netbanking/login)
• 2. Mobile Banking APP (GoMo)
  (You can make payment through IMPS, Transfer from account & NEFT)
• 3. NEFT (Please note: time taken to make NEFT payment will be 1 working day)
• 4. Cheque drawn on Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd.
  (Please note Cheque drawn on Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd. should be deposited at least 1 working day prior to the
  payment due date to ensure timely credit to your card account and avoid levy of penal charges.)
• 5. Cheque drawn on any other Bank
  (Please note Cheque drawn on any other Bank should be deposited at least 3 working days prior to the
  payment due date to ensure timely credit to your card account and avoid levy of penal charges.)
• 6. Auto Debit from your account (Click the link to download the form) http://bit.ly/autodbt
  (Take a print of the auto debit form and submit the same at your nearest branch)
• 7. BBPS: Credit card bill payments either through any of the Payment Applications like BHIM, Gpay, PhonePe etc. or through any other Digital banking application providing BBPS facility.

Important information:

1. The Card holder must quote his / her 16-digit Card Number at the time of making the payment.
2. In case of payments made by NEFT / RTGS, the Card holder must mention his / her
3. Card Number as the Account Number and IFSC Code as SRCB0000001

In case the Cheque/ECS/ACH or any other payment instrument forwarded by the card holder is not honoured for any reason whatsoever or must be returned to the card holder because it cannot be processed, Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd. reserves the right to proceed legally, including but not limited to initiating proceedings Under Sections 138 read with Sections 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, against the card holder and would at its discretion levy an additional fee and / or temporarily withdraw charge facilities on the card or linked credit cards. Such returned or delayed card payments would result in block / decline of card / card transactions, including linked card relationships without any notice. Repeated instances of payment instruments not being honoured could result in cancellation of the card holders account.

Please refer to the schedule of charges published in the MITC for details on charges for cheque / ECS / ACH return. Please note that the charges applicable for cheque / ECS / ACH returned are liable to change, with notice, from time to time at Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd.  sole discretion.

Auto Debit from your account (Click the link to download the form) http://bit.ly/autodbt
(Take a print of the auto debit form and submit the same at your nearest branch)

The excess payment over and above the Total Amount Due (TAD) shall reflect as a Credit balance in Card Account and can be utilized by Card holder for future purchases.

The Card holder shall be receiving transaction alerts through SMS and Email in respect of all transactions done through the Credit Card irrespective of the amount. The transaction SMS would mention the Place of Transaction (Merchant Name), Transaction Amount, Amount Due as on date and Available Credit Limit.

Alternatively, the Card holder can also access the transaction data through the Mobile Application and Web portal.

A Card holder can opt for converting the transactions to an EMI mode. Transactions    above Rs. 2,500/- can be converted into EMIs for 3,6,9 & 12 months. Interest as per latest charges schedule shall be applicable on conversion to EMI transactions. The Card holder has the option to cancel the EMI facility and pay the balance amount in the next billing statement. Request for cancellation of EMI can be made by the Card holder either through the Mobile Application or Web portal or Customer Care Centre.

Yes, the Card can be used for International transactions.
However, the Card shall be inactive for international use by default at the time of card issuance unless it is specifically marked to the contrary in the Card Application Form. The Card holder can activate the Card for international use through the Mobile Application or Web portal or Customer Care Centre. Once, the Card is made active for International use it shall continue to remain so unless the Card holder deactivates the same through either of the above modes. The Card holder shall receive a message confirming the activation / deactivation of the International Usage facility.

There will be mark up of 3% with respect to the international transactions done on the Credit Card.

The Card holder can opt for availing a maximum of 2 Add-on cards against the Primary Card Account in his / her name. The Add on Cards can be granted to family members i.e. Spouse, Parents, Siblings (above 18 years of age) and Children (above 18 years of age) of the Card holder. The card holder needs to make separate application for the same

The Credit card limit granted to the Add-on Card shall be a part of the Primary Card Limit and the total amount utilized against the Cards (Primary and Add-ons) shall not exceed the Credit Limit granted to the Primary Card holder.

Transaction Alerts in respect of the transactions done by the Add-on Card holder shall be received by Primary Card holder.

CVV is a 3-digit number printed on the back side of the card to the right of the signature panel. The CVV is required for authenticating E-Comm transactions and is unique to each card. This number is preprinted on the Card AND can’t be changed by Cardholder

The Card holder can unilaterally restrict the usage of his card by setting the Card limit to any amount lower than the approved Card Limit. In such case, the total limit which can be used by both the Primary and Add-on Card holders shall stand restricted to such reduced limit as may be decided by the Card holder.

Upgradation / increase of card limit cannot be done by the Card holder unilaterally, the Card holder needs to apply for the same separately through Mobile Application or Web portal or Customer Care Centre.

In case the Credit Card is lost or stolen then the Card holder can Block / Hotlist his / her Card through the Mobile Application or Web portal or by contacting the Customer Care Centre.

The Bank has set up a 24 Hours Customer Care facility and a dedicated Toll Free Number 1-800-266-9545 has been assigned. Alternatively, the Card holder can also reach the Bank (Credit Card Cell) by communicating through email on the id – creditcards@saraswatbank.com

The Card holder shall have to separately request for reissuance of a lost / stolen Card. The request can be placed through the Mobile Application or Web portal or by contacting the Customer Care Centre. In case of requests placed through the Mobile Application or Web portal, the same shall be processed only after tele-verification with the Card holder.

The existing credit card will be valid for the period of 36 months from the card issue date. The credit card will be automatically renewed one month prior to the existing card expiry date and the new Card will be sent to the Customer’s registered mailing address.

You can report a disputed transaction by informing the Bank through e-mail at creditcards@saraswatbank.com or by calling the 24 Hours Customer Care Centre to report the transaction dispute.

Credit Card transaction dispute needs to be reported in writing within 30 days form the statement date in which the said transaction appears.

The Bank shall be providing various offers through Reward point programs. The Card holder will receive details of the reward points earned through the Mobile Application and Web portal. The Card holder can access the various offers in force by accessing the link displayed on the portal. The reward points balance shall also be reflected in the Credit Card Statement.

Without prejudice to anything contained herein, in the event of death of a card holder, Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd. reserves the right to pursue all courses available to it under law and equity to recover any card outstanding , including recovery of the card outstanding from any applicable insurance cover or from heirs / executors / administrators / family members of the card holder or from the account by the way of lien or set-off of all the card outstanding dues against the credit balances available in any of the accounts.

The Card holder can Unblock his / her Card through the Web portal or by contacting the Customer Care Centre, in case he/she has blocked the card for being lost / stolen