Again, there will be 12 randomly picked five-minute durations during which you could swing a refund. There is a small catch though: HDFC Bank will call you up if you are the selected customer, and you will then have to answer a question correctly. Says HDFC Bank's country-head (marketing & retail assets), Neeraj Swaroop, "Debit-card holders can benefit from `Visa Magic Moments' promotion.

In addition to the ease of use through direct access to their bank accounts, cardholders need only to continue their HDFC Bank Visa `Electron' debit-card for everybody purchases, and in the process could get a unique opportunity to win their purchase free".

Notes Visa International's country-manager (south-Asia), Vishal Pandit, "Given the frequency of winning opportunities, we estimate hundreds of winners over the course of the promotion. HDFC Bank customers will not only enjoy unparalleled acceptance and convenience of Visa Electron, but also get a chance to make free purchases".

All this forms part of HDFC Bank strategy to increase the usage of debit-cards. The product was first launched by Citibank in association with MasterCard International, but it is HDFC Bank that has taken it to the masses. Debit-cards from HDFC Bank were launched about seven months ago. The bank claims that there are already over 2,00,000 customers who have availed of it - HDFC Bank's 70,000 and around 1,20,000 of Times Bank customers who have a MasterCard International `Maestro' debit card. The national roll-out of debit-cards began sometime back. HDFC Bank offers debit-cards at Rs 250 per annum to all savings bank holders.

Says Swaroop, "The response so far has been good. Average transaction size on the debit-card has been around Rs 900 - Rs 1,000. In the month of June, we saw about 20,000 transactions. This is a good start though small". The `Visa Magic Moments' is part of HDFC Bank's attempts to incentivise the customers to use the debit card, and not just acquire and keep one in the wallet. Alongside its debit-cards, HDFC Bank has also set up over a 100 electronic data capture (EDC) terminals in and around its branches in Mumbai. The move is essential if acceptance outlets are to increase given the fact that debit-cards are typically used for utilitarian purchases.

EDCs numbering between 500 to 1,000 are expected to be set by the bank this fiscal on a countrywide basis. This will complement its ATM network numbering 122 with an additional 250 or so by way of a wire-up with other banks.