RBI - Credit card defaulters rising

Increasing credit card defaults in the domestic banking system are a matter of concern, prompting many lenders to seriously look at the issue, a top Reserve Bank official said.

"Deafults (related to credit cards) are going up.

It’s a matter of concern. Many banks are looking at the issue (of rising defaults)," RBI's Deputy Governor V Leeladhar told reporters.

However, the apex bank has not seen any slow-down in the demand for credit cards, Leeladhar said on the sidelines of an IBA seminar here.

"Demand for credit cards has not slowed down. It (the demand) might have plateaued," he said.

The RBI Deputy Governor also said that the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has joined the National Financial Switch (NFS) set up by the RBI- controlled Institute of Development and Research in Banking.

NFS would enable banks to share a common technology infrastructure, allowing them to share ATM resources. The customers of a bank in the NFS network would get access to other banks' ATMs without paying any additional charge.

Three more public sector banks are set to join the NFS and were presently engaged in setting up the necessary technology platform required to join the service, Leeladhar said.

The final guidelines on mobile-banking, which would enable banks to roll out their mobile banking operations, was expected very soon, he said.