Latest news with #SarikaShetty
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
7 smart ways to maximise credit card cashback and rewards in 2025
Credit card usage in the country is growing fast. There were 11.12 crore cards in use as of May 2025, up 7.64% from last year, according to a recent report by Angel One. HDFC Bank added the most new cards, followed by SBI and Axis Bank. ICICI Bank, however, saw a drop. As more people start using credit cards, it becomes important to use them wisely. One way is by making the most of cashback and rewards. Therefore, in such a rapidly evolving credit card environment, it is crucial for card-holders to find efficient ways to maximise cashback and rewards to make the most of their credit instruments. To meet these objectives, you must use appropriate credit cards according to your needs and spending. Efficient planning is crucial for boosting your cashbacks and rewards. Elaborating on the same, Sarika Shetty, Co-founder and CEO, RentenPe says 'Use the right card for each spend category—groceries, dining, travel, or rent – to maximise credit card rewards. Keep track of offers, bonuses, and wallet or bank deals. Use platforms that reward you for paying bills like rent, utilities etc using credit card to maximise on rewards and add on savings. Pay bills in full to avoid interest — rewards only work when you don't carry debt.' Therefore, to make the most of your credit card, you should select the one that matches your lifestyle and spending habits. Begin by listing your monthly expenses to identify key categories like groceries, fuel, travel, or online shopping. Then, pick a card that offers the best rewards in those areas—like lounge access for frequent flyers or cashback on Amazon, Flipkart, and food apps for avid online shoppers. Do remember, apart from focusing on maximising your cashbacks and rewards, you should also consider features such as annual fee waivers, milestone benefits, foreign transaction charges along with whether the credit card you are opting for provides UPI compatibility or not. As this is a growing need in the country's evolving digital payment landscape. Hence, do compare features carefully before opting for any particular credit card and don't hesitate to downgrade or upgrade later based on your financial behaviour. Use the right credit card for each category: dining, fuel, travel, shopping. Use cashback applications such as MagicPin, GPay, CRED etc to maximise savings during festivals. Maximise welcome/milestone bonuses to focus on offsetting annual fees. Use your rewards to get credit card bill discounts at checkout for better value. Check and follow limits on cashback or reward points. Ensure that you pay your bill in full to avoid interest nullifying your gains Do remember, credit card features change and evolve rapidly with market trends. That is why staying updated on new developments, launches, offers and rewards assists in maximising value. You can also save anywhere between ₹ 10,000 to ₹ 30,000 annually with efficient usage. For all personal finance updates, visit here. Disclaimer: Mint has a tie-up with fintechs for providing credit; you will need to share your information if you apply. These tie-ups do not influence our editorial content. This article only intends to educate and spread awareness about credit needs like loans, credit cards and credit scores. Mint does not promote or encourage taking credit, as it comes with a set of risks such as high interest rates, hidden charges, etc. We advise investors to discuss with certified experts before taking any credit.
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Business Standard
17-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
NPCI's new rules speed up UPI: How it impacts your daily transactions
Banks and payment service providers asked to cut response times for key processes so that payment service's quality improves UPI transactions should become faster starting this week after the organisation that manages the digital payments system asked member banks and payment service providers to reduce response time for key processes. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), in a circular dated April 26, 2025, has revised the turnaround time for several APIs (application programming interfaces), the technology that facilitates UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions between banks and apps. Here are the key changes: Request pay (debit and credit): Transaction reversals: Time allowed reduced to 10 seconds from the earlier 30 seconds Validate address for pay/collect requests: Must be processed within 8 seconds, earlier limit was 10 seconds These changes apply across multiple stakeholders, including payer and payee Payment Service Providers, banks, and apps. ALSO READ | India's first credit card with UPI and Visa in one - and zero forex fees How does it help UPI users Faster API responses mean: Quicker confirmations for your payments, especially during peak hours or high-traffic days Reduced wait time for failed transaction reversals Lower chances of payment timeouts or declines due to slow backend processes 'With 15-second UPI processing, payments will now be faster and more reliable, a win-win for India's 350 million users,' says Sarika Shetty, chief executive officer & co-founder, RentenPe. 'This will ease load during peak hours, improve gateway efficiency, and encourage more people to choose UPI over IMPS or NEFT, especially as UPI expands into rural areas and global markets.' What banks and apps must do: NPCI has asked all UPI participants to upgrade their systems to comply with the new response time. They must also ensure that these changes don't increase the number of technical declines (failures due to system issues). With this move, NPCI is clearly signalling its focus on streamlining the digital payment experience, especially as UPI expands into offline, credit, and international use cases.
