"It is our constant endevour to provide the best quality of service and care. Our customers now have the flexibility and convinience of using the same credit card in India and overseas", said HSBC's senior manager personal banking and cards, Richard Jo Cromwell.

HSBC's rewards programme is a basic one, and does not involve discounts on any merchandise of any particular propriety. Cardholders get one reward point for every spend worth Rs 100. The reward's programme also does not distinguish local spends for those made overseas. Cardholders will benefit from a 3.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent discount on basic and international airfares respectively. Add-ons include a global calling card from GlobalOne.

Cromwell said that "setting apart the bank's credit card is the fact that card-members can access their personal accounts at the bank with their credit card at the bank's atms (automated teller machines)", adding that this was important as the cardlimit may, at times, not cover the dollar-limit sanctioned for overseas travel.

"At this point in time, we have not offered a rewards programme that enables you get to discounts on specific products... but this is just the beginning", HSBC's chief executive officer (India), Zarir J Cama, said, adding: "The Bank does not want to miss out on the opportunity offered by global credit cards".

HSBC launched its card's business in 1992, but it really took off only in 1997. Said HSBC's manager-cards, Vivek Kudwa: "Our card base will touch the 300,000 mark by this year-end". HSBC claims its card-base grew by 600 per cent from 140,000 in 1998 to nearly 300,000 or so at this point in time. Kuwda added that HSBC has targetted a cardbase of 2 million in the next five years.

HSBC is also in talks with a number of other players within India for co-branded and affinity cards. Qualifying this, Cama said the partner chosen for a co-branded card launch would depend on satisfactory on assured incremental volumes to be generated. HSBC is also setting in place, at a cost of $5 million an operational system, which would allow the bank to service its credit card customers more efficiently while enhancing its capacity to handle greater volumes.