The latest offers from BOBCARD, HSBC India and YES Bank come ahead of key spending periods including Independence Day, Raksha Bandhan and Onam, as banks seek to tap into higher consumer activity during the season.
BOBCARD, the credit card arm of Bank of Baroda, has introduced offers on electronics across brands such as Samsung, Sony, TCL, Haier, Oppo and HP. The offers include discounts and cashback on products such as televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, smartphones and laptops.
Most of the benefits are linked to eligible BOBCARD credit card EMI transactions and come with minimum purchase values and other conditions. The offers vary by brand. For instance, selected Samsung products carry discounts of up to 22.5%, while selected Haier products have cashback of up to 25%. The validity of the offers also differs, with several running until September 30.
HSBC India has taken a different approach by targeting overseas card spending. It will waive forex markup on foreign-currency transactions across its credit card portfolio from August 15 to September 15.
The waiver will apply to both overseas point-of-sale transactions and online foreign-currency payments. HSBC said its customers will also continue to remain exempt from Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) charges when paying in their home currency abroad.
Meanwhile, YES Bank has announced a wider set of Onam-related banking offers for customers in Kerala, covering deposits, loans and credit cards.
For NRI customers, the bank is offering FCNR(B) deposits at rates of up to 6.6% per annum on US dollar deposits. Resident customers can earn up to 7.25% on fixed deposits, while senior citizens can get up to 7.75%, subject to applicable terms.
On the lending side, YES Bank is offering personal loans of up to ₹50 lakh and car loans for new and pre-owned vehicles, with a 50% waiver on processing fees for the latter. Its credit card customers can also access merchant offers of up to 20% in select categories.
However, for customers, the benefits will depend on factors such as minimum transaction values, eligible products, EMI tenure, payment channels and offer validity.
Consumers should compare the final cost, including any financing or processing charges, rather than looking only at the headline discount or cashback.
