Citibank and payment platform Paytm have ended their partnership for a co-branded credit card Paytm CITI Card, ahead of the merger of Citibank’s commercial banking business with Axis Bank.
Both Citibank and Paytm have written to cardholders informing them that the co-branded credit card will be shutting down and offering other cards they could opt for.
Paytm in a marketing communication said: “Your Paytm Citi credit card account will be closing soon. Don’t worry, keep enjoying uninterrupted benefits with the Paytm HDFC Bank credit card. Switch now with no registration fees.”
“Our partnership with One97 Communication Ltd. (Paytm) for the co-branded Citi Paytm credit card has come to an end. In this regard, we are delighted to offer you the Citi Rewards credit card as a replacement for your Citi Paytm credit card, should you choose to consent to it,” Citibank said in a note to which it agreed. Line of business.
For existing Citi Rewards credit card customers, the bank has offered to replace Citi Paytm cards with the Citi Cash Back credit card. He added that consent to switch to another Citi-branded credit card will also serve as consent to the transfer of the cardholder’s banking relationship with Citibank to Axis Bank, he said.
Lack of consent will lead to closure of Citi Paytm credit card from January 30 as Citi India will no longer be able to provide services on Citi Paytm credit card, it said.
In March 2022, Axis Bank had announced the acquisition of Citigroup’s retail banking business in India for ₹12,325 crore, subject to necessary approvals. This included Citibank’s consumer business, including credit cards, retail banking, wealth management, and consumer lending.
After acquiring around 30 lakh of unique Citibank customers, Axis Bank will have around 2.85 crore of savings accounts, more than 2.3 lakh of Burgundy customers and 1.06 crore of cards. It will also increase Axis Bank’s credit card customer base by 31 percent with 25 lakh additional cards, putting Axis Bank among the top three players in the Indian market, it said then.
ENR increases
In terms of ending net receivables (ENR) for credit cards, Axis Bank’s market share will rise to 15.5 percent from 11.8 percent, with ENR increasing 57 percent to ₹24,400 crore after the merger.
However, Citibank said Line of business that Citi-Paytm co-branded cards were outside the scope of the agreed transaction between Citibank and Axis Bank. “Since the Citi-Paytm co-branding agreement formally ended, these cardholders have been given the option to easily exchange their cards…which will also make for a seamless transition to Axis. This is a planned transition, where customers are given multiple options for their cards to be closed,” a Citibank spokesperson said.
An Axis Bank spokesman said the bank did not wish to comment separately on the development.
Paytm, in turn, has around 3,00,000 cards activated as of September 2022 with average monthly retail spending of $269 – $293 per active card. The company activated about 48,000 new cards in October 2022. The alliance with Citibank reportedly ended in November 2022.
