From mostly a savings-dependent economy, India's credit card user base increased to almost 50 million by the end of 2019. Despite the fact that debit cards still hold a major portion of the market for cashless transactions, credit cards are gaining ground thanks to the sheer number of benefits they come with.
The rise of e-commerce also helped significantly in the spread of credit card utilisation. Online credit card usage spiked in the last few years, showing an increasing trend where more and more people are paying their shopping bills using credit cards instead of debit cards.
This massive change is influenced by several reasons, including a number of reasons that show how credit cards are better than debit cards for online payments. Let's take a look at some of them.
Why are credit cards better than debit cards for online use?There are several reasons why a consumer is smarter with a credit card in his or her pocket. Some of the most noteworthy factors are -
- Facility to convert repayments into EMIs
One of the most noteworthy features of using a shopping credit card is the facility to convert a high-value purchase into easy EMIs. Some issuers offer such facilities with their feature-rich credit cards, where you can convert any big-ticket purchase into smaller payments. Most e-commerce websites also offer the EMI option, which makes it extremely convenient, especially when buying consumer electronics.
The process of EMI conversion is also very simple and convenient. A customer can select the total EMI period before check-out instead of paying the entire sum at a go. The EMI will be automatically registered, the details of which will be communicated over the online credit account or credit card statement.
Both offline and online credit card usage offers attractive reward points that can be redeemed later for discounts, gift vouchers, and several other benefits. Most financial institutions offer accelerated reward points for online purchases using credit cards, and customers only need to know how to redeem credit card reward points to benefit from these facilities.
Moreover, certain financial institutions also offer facilities to make down payments using accumulated reward points. This can further help in minimising your financial liabilities.
Credit card issuers lay utmost importance to customer safety and security. Most of the products available in the market offer multiple levels of fraud protection. Bajaj Finserv RBL Bank SuperCard, for instance, comes with robust security integrations such as zero-fraud liability cover and in-hand security, which safeguards a customer's finances from both online fraud and unauthorised transactions.
The card issuer also provides pre-approved offers to existing customers, which help simplify the application and approval process. An applicant can avail the offer on several financial products, like credit cards and personal loans. You can check your pre-approved offer online by entering only your name and contact details.
Financial institutions that offer credit cards boost significantly well-structured customer care, which ensures prompt resolution to any complaint or escalation. Credit card companies will perform the necessary investigation to confirm whether a fraudulent transaction indeed took place or not, and once confirmed, will take prompt action to ensure zero customer loss. The Reserve Bank of India also has an ombudsman to assist customers if the issue is not resolved at the level of a financial institution.
Dispute resolution facility also exists for debit cards; however, the processing takes a significantly longer time. It is thus a major benefit of using online credit cards for shopping over debit cards.
Together, the factors mentioned above make credit cards a much safe, sensible, and convenient option for online purchases. Improved security against fraud, rewards for the money spent, and quick dispute resolution make it an ideal payment tool for both online and offline transactions.