According to Sandeep Ghosh, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa, the Reserve Bank of India’s pushback against exuberance pertaining to unsecured loans has not had any adverse effect on the credit card spends and repayment behavior of the customers. Instead of this, credit card spends have maintained the positive growth momentum and have increased by over 20% since the regulatory action was taken last year, November 2023.

Ghosh stated at the launch of HSBC Live+ Credit Card which was launched in partnership with Visa, “Credit card spending has not decreased. It was a (regulatory) action on the balance sheet and institutional intervention. It has not necessarily impacted how individuals are spending on their card or their repayment history. Despite the increase in risk weights for unsecured lending in November 2023, credit card spending has grown upwards of 20 per cent.”

Including personal loans and credit card loans, from 100 per cent to 125 per cent, Reserve Bank of India had increased the risk weighting on unsecured lending. If we speak of HSBC Live+ card, it offers a 15% discount at restaurants across Asian countries. Furthermore, besides unlimited 1.5% cash back on other spends, the card also offers 10% cashback when users spend in these three categories: food delivery, dining, and groceries.