Several updates have been announced by ICICI to its credit card fees, which shall begin on November 15th, 2024. These changes cover finance charges, late payment fees, and additional transaction fees for education, utilities, and fuel. These adjustments come as ICICI Bank aims to streamline its charges in line with industry trends and to align with rising operational costs.
Finance Charges
Starting mid-November, finance charges on extended credit and cash advances for ICICI Bank credit cardholders will now be applied at a monthly rate of 3.75%, equating to an annual rate of 45%. This applies to overdue interest on unpaid balances and any cash advances on the credit card.
Also, there is a change on the late payment charges based on the outstanding balance, ICICI Bank has been restructured. Charges will range from ₹100 for balances between ₹101 and ₹500, up to ₹1,300 for amounts exceeding ₹50,000. Balances under ₹100 remain exempt from any late fees.
There shall not be any additional charges incurred in the payments that are directly made to schools or colleges, which includes international education fees. Though there shall be a 1% fee charged on the education-related payments made through 3rd-party applications. This change is intended to offset processing costs associated with external payment platforms.
Utility and Fuel Transaction Fees
There shall be new 1% fee levied for the utility payments for transaction amount exceeding ₹50,000. There shall be 1% fee on fuel transactions over ₹10,000 will also incur a 1% fee.
All of the above, and then there are some charges that shall remain unaffected by the new policy. The fee for cash payments at bank branches will still be ₹100 per transaction, while fuel surcharges and rent payments retain a 1% fee on transaction amounts, with specific exemptions on Amazon Pay Cards.
Additionally, interest charges will continue to apply to all overdue balances and cash advances until the balance is paid in full, at a maximum monthly rate of 3.8% (46% annually) in cases of default.
These updates from ICICI Bank follow similar recent adjustments made by SBI Card, which raised its own finance charges to 3.75% per month starting November 1, 2024.
