[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Team, is there a product in India that works like a prepaid charge card. I am a NRI and deactivated my cards years ago. I hate to carry cash when travelling to pay for hotels/fuel.

What are my options?

Use an e-wallet like Paytm, it has higher acceptance across most businesses.
But not sure of thr KYC norms for an NRI with Paytm.

[binand]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Team, is there a product in India that works like a prepaid charge card. I am a NRI and deactivated my cards years ago. I hate to carry cash when travelling to pay for hotels/fuel.

HDFC Bank has several pre-paid cards available. I imagine other banks do too.

https://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/pr.../prepaid-cards

You need to do the comparison and pick the right one for your use-case, I'm afraid.

The problem for you whether you pick a card or a digital wallet is how to load money into it. It should be possible from your NRO account if you have one, but of course speak to the bank. You might even be able to wire money into the card account with the right paperwork in place.

Otherwise your foreign credit/debit cards work quite well in India. I have done this when I was an NRI. Some websites/merchants might not accept foreign-issued cards.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Team, is there a product in India that works like a prepaid charge card. I am a NRI and deactivated my cards years ago. I hate to carry cash when travelling to pay for hotels/fuel.

What are my options?

If you have a savings/current account with any of the Indian banks, installing the app and you have a working UPI ID that can be linked to any wallet app like Paytm, Mobiqwik, Phonepe etc. Best is GooglePay but it requires your local number to be linked to the savings account you are using.

While not everyone might be ready to accept wallet payment via the app, a lot of businesses have realized an online transfer is much cheaper to them than a card transaction so they would be Ok if you just do a quick imps online transfer than paying via card.

[nrahul]

Whenever my brother travels to India, I just get an add-on card for him on my SBI CC. The statement clearly marks which card was used for payment. He just pays me the equivalent amount in USD, which I use on my US trips. It's a win-win for both of us.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

What are my options?

I assume you have family in India. You can use anyone else's card. My daughter carries one of my citi cards and my wife carries one of my axis bank cards. Both are in my name but they've never had an issue either signing or entering the pin at any establishment. My daughter just turned 18 and I can now get her an add on for herself. My wife's card had expired and since we moved home there was a complication rerouting her add on to our new address. So we never bothered and she just carries mine. I presume you can do the same. I also imagine you can use your US based cards in India, any reason you don't?

[akshaymahajan]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Team, is there a product in India that works like a prepaid charge card. I am a NRI and deactivated my cards years ago. I hate to carry cash when travelling to pay for hotels/fuel.

What are my options?

Yes, most banks can give you a cash card/gift card with a preloaded balance. Not sure if you can reload them online though. Like this.

Else, use apps like BHIM/PayTM that are widely accepted

[binand]

Originally Posted by diyguy

You can use anyone else's card.

Just that you might not be eligible for any of the protections offered in case of fraud/deficiency.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Team, is there a product in India that works like a prepaid charge card. I am a NRI and deactivated my cards years ago. I hate to carry cash when travelling to pay for hotels/fuel.

What are my options?

Here are a few that I got from Google Search
https://www.icicibank.com/Personal-B...aid/index.page
https://www.axisbank.com/retail/cards/prepaid-cards
https://www.serve.com/?SOLID=14AMEX&...mex-aepcfooter

By the way, most of International Cards are honoured in India - AMEX, Visa, MasterCard etc, so you can use cards issued abroad here, and the forex rates are quite attractive.

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by binand

Just that you might not be eligible for any of the protections offered in case of fraud/deficiency.

Why would that be? Usage by wife is willing, whereas fraud committed is unwilling. Protections would continue to apply, unless it says so in the T & C that you cannot give your card to your spouse willingly.
Above is my point of view and I have never bothered to read those fat booklets that come with the card.

[binand]

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

Why would that be?

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/64488850.cms

The court has held that husband cannot use wife's debit card. It is reasonable to suppose they will hold the same view vice versa, and also in cases involving other digital payment instruments too.

Basically the bank's liability ends the moment PIN is shared - as per the view presented by SBI and accepted by the court.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

Why would that be? Usage by wife is willing, whereas fraud committed is unwilling. Protections would continue to apply, unless it says so in the T & C that you cannot give your card to your spouse willingly.
Above is my point of view and I have never bothered to read those fat booklets that come with the card.

Be very wary of what information you share if any thing goes south.

Don't get into the pit fall that a family in KL (not sure) got with SBI. Husband used wife's ATM card to withdraw cash, which did not get disbursed but deducted from account; on raising complaint, SBI said it is breach of usage policy, since PIN was shared, and cannot refund the money.

Forget the fact that the lady was in hospital (or some similar condition) and it was her husband who tried to withdraw the cash.

[sairamboko]

I own 2 credit cards- HDFC JP Miles platinum and Citibank IOC card. I have a good credit limt on both and HDFC has over 5 lakhs in credit limit. I am looking to change the both, since I feel it was incorrect choice. I need a card for maximum rewards/savings for my expenses. Majority of card spends are fuel and I use Citibank for that. Should I look at other rewarding fuel credit cards? Any suggestions? As for HDFC, I am not sure if i want it. I was bitten by the joy of flying and started using this card almost 7 years ago. Nowadays no flying needs for my family and myself. Should i upgrade to a different one in HDFC or apply for other bank card?

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by binand

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/64488850.cms

.

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Forget the fact that the lady was in hospital (or some similar condition) and it was her husband who tried to withdraw the cash.

Fair enough and valid.

What I felt when I had read this case, was that the involved people were purely unlucky. There would have been multiple times before this, when the transaction would have been successful and no one bothered. I am not sure if the decision was a correct one, as there must have been CCTV footage to prove that money did not get dispensed. And if not dispensed, the account holder should be given back the money. Banks/Courts allow power of attorney holders to operate, so why not someone willingly given the card with PIN. This should not be a technical point to reject the claim for a machine's failure to dispense. If the CCTV footage wasn't clear enough, then the court has to be given a benefit of doubt, as the husband could have pocketed the money himself.


Now with a Credit card, frauds like a foreign country transaction, when the user is in India, the investigating authority won't actually bother to see if the spouse is using the card or not.
But yes, if the spouse is out of the country with the other half's card, gets robbed and the card is used, then for sure the money is gone on technical grounds.

[ApriliaNut]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Team, is there a product in India that works like a prepaid charge card. I am a NRI and deactivated my cards years ago. I hate to carry cash when travelling to pay for hotels/fuel.

What are my options?

If you have NRE account with any of the big banks, they can give you a secured credit card against your NRE FD of minimum 3L. I can confirm that ICICI & HDFC give NRI CCs as I have them.

Only thing is that on your visit to India, you'll have to contact your branch manager, at whose discretion that card will be issued. One time physical presence is required to sign the form. After that nothing is required from you except to use the card. Statement balance is automatically deducted from your NRE savings account, so no issue of late or interest payment.

I visit India every year & incur tons of local expenses so these cards take care of everything and more.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Team, is there a product in India that works like a prepaid charge card. I am a NRI and deactivated my cards years ago. I hate to carry cash when travelling to pay for hotels/fuel.

What are my options?

Another suggestion in addition to what the other members have said is to get a premium card (Amex Gold, Chase Sapphire, etc.).
These cards don't charge foreign transaction fees.