Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Shifting gears (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/)

-   -   Citibank's exit from India (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/261302-citibanks-exit-india-4.html)

Share the same feelings. Citi.. That never sleeps, was the tagline. It was my first card and using for 20+ yrs. Never gave me a chance to complain. Used abroad(always called them in advance about my travel plans) and it never even once disappointed. Always safe and customer friendly. It was one name you could bank upon abroad.

Simple answer: You don't!

Opt out is the best option.

Of many years of trying out many banks here are some thumb rules I arrived at:

- Good bank is just a hypothetical concept. None exist. (Citi: honorable exception that didn't last.)

- Any govt bank, irrespective of size, sucks.

- Larger private banks suck. Larger the market cap worse the service.

- Co-op? Not my cup of tea. There could be a few honorable exceptions, but I prefer to stay away from these.

- That leaves private banks on the growth path but that have not yet crossed a certain threshold and are still likely to serve you _somewhat_ well. You may have to do some trial and error to find which one works for you.

I own a Citibank Indian oil card, called up their customer care to clarify the benefits and future usability of this card.

1. Axis has taken over the back-end operations of the card. For any queries, I need to contact Citibank customer care only in future.
2. All rewards points earned will remain intact and any future spending will continue to earn points depending on the nature of purchase.

I don't think the customer care is equipped to answer such questions at the moment. If 'future' means till the takeover process is complete, then it makes sense. After that, it's anybody's guess at the moment. We have to wait for official communication.

Once the takeover process is complete, i don't think Axis will want to maintain separate line of products for Citi customers. So most likely these Citibank cards will be replaced with an equivalent from Axis lineup over a period of time.

FAQ on the process is pretty elaborate on most points, but bottomline is we need to wait for official communication on how the transition is going to happen from Citi to Axis at individual account and product level.

FAQ:
https://www.online.citibank.co.in/co...df/faq-tnc.pdf
See point 35 relevant for credit cards.

Email from Citi
Important update: Effective March 1, 2023, your Citi relationships will get transferred to Axis Bank.

I too have received the same email. I also received my renewed credit card and add on card yesterday. They are still Citibank cards valid till 2028.

Some months back I received a customer service call regarding the transfer of business to Axis Bank. While concluding the call, the lady who spoke thanked me formally for the relationship with their bank and noted with surprise "Sir, I see you have been with us for almost thirty years."

I got the card in 1994, and bet she wouldn't have been born then! Time sure flies.

In all these years, the experience was quite pleasant. I should place it on record and feel sad to see them go. I rarely had to make any complaints. I always paid the entire dues in full, and on a few occasions when I forgot the due date and paid a couple of days late, they levied some late payment charges in the next statement. But a polite call to them the next day was enough for them to reverse it. I somehow dislike giving auto debit instructions.

I've moved everything from my Citi account to the other HDFC account.

Already have HDFC and SBI. Will now open a salary account with ICICI and keep the Citi account as one with UPI. Citi was seamless, always. Will miss that for sure.

Citibank Removes Signboard From Iconic Kolkata Office From Where It Began India Operations

Source: NDTV

Without taking my consent for moving my credit card account to Axis Bank, Citi assumed consent based on my card usage in Jan.
I was not happy with this & asked them to cancel my credit card, which was duly done.

Citi has sent email communication about deemed consent around November timeframe with the continued usage of Citi products. Those who didn't provided consent or didn't used the products, they closed those card accounts in Feb and gave a 45 day period to claim any reward points which is fair.

I didn't receive any email or sms on the deemed consent!

That's bad. At least they should have intimated by SMS and email after they recorded the deemed consent.

No one can match Citibank's customer service. I have been using the Citi Reward and Indian Oil Credit Cards since 2010 and 8 credit cards from other banks, and trust me, no one is closer to Citibank when it comes to service. Two years ago, I was in dire need of 2L. I called Citi customer service, told them the amount, and they transferred it to my SBI account within 10 minutes. Of course, it was a loan, but the turnaround time was astonishing. I gave my consent already, but from now on, my preferred credit card will be from SBI only.

They did send emails and SMSes, and there was a post-login popup in CBOL.

In addition my relationship manager called me separately and informed me of the benefits and drawbacks. I eventually opted to port because according to her, that will preserve my entire history with them going back 20-ish years.

For those without relationship managers I guess customer care would have called.

I got the credit card in Dec'22 & I didn't receive any email or SMS asking for consent.
Maybe they assumed that new customers are fine with the port-out, I was not.