BarclayCard News

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Barclaycard is UK’s leading credit card issuer (Barclaycard Purchase Credit Card), controlling over 15% of the market. It has over ten million customers and a million of them may have to pay dormancy or low usage charges of £20. However, last year business had hit a rough patch due to bad increase in bad debt among credit card holders. Reports suggest that this move has been made purely to enhance their profitability.

In introducing dormancy or low usage charges, Barclaycard is merely following suit of Lloyds TSB, who in February introduced a dormancy fee of £35. This scheme could prove to very profitable for the company. On one hand the card holders who have shifted to another credit card but did not close their Barclaycard account will be forced to sit up and take notice. Card holders who do not use their accounts would close their account which would reduce company expenditure on credit card statements and account maintenance. The amount collected as fee will increase company income. Besides this will encourage low spenders to use their cards more often, which in turn might lead to interest payment if they fail to repay monthly bills on time.

In other news, the Barclaycard has launched three new Visa credit cards specially suit the preferences of Indian customers. With these three credit cards, Barclaycards hope to get a head start in the Indian credit card market.

The Barclaycard gold allows customers to exercise their freedom of choice while setting credit limit, selecting interest rate and the minimum monthly payment rate (5%, 7% or 10%). For transactions over Rs 2500 an Equal Monthly Installment plan is available.

The Barclaycard Small Budget Card is a user-friendly card that allows the user to alter the monthly payment account, irrespective of the amount he has spent that month. The monthly payment day or the credit limit can be adjusted (within certain limit) to suit the circumstances of the user.

The most striking of the three is the Barclays Premier League Barclaycard. A special offering from the Barclays Premier League, the card is designed specially for Indian football fans. It offers incredible football prizes which include newsletters about the Barclays Premier League and if lucky the user can get tickets to football games. Like the Barclaycard Gold, the monthly billing dates and the credit limit are flexible. Similarly balance for expenditure of more than Rs 2500 can be shifted to an Equal Monthly Installment account.

According to Kusal Roy, leader of the Indian venture, these cards offer both flexibility and simplicity and “no nasty surprises when the bill arrives”.