Key Highlights
- While formal credit penetration remains stubbornly low, these partnerships aren't loyalty programs but gateways to building that credit economy.
- Yet herein lies the fragility.
- The IndusInd EazyDiner credit card benefit devaluations last year punished genuine users after widespread gaming of the system—exposes the Achilles heel of certain structures of rewards-driven loyalty.
- The risk here is, when a value proposition is arbitrarily revised (I don’t often blame banks, but as a consumer, you’ve a right to feel shortchanged; particularly for paid cards), you're not building loyalty.
- Axis Bank's Arnika Dixit's emphasis on "habitual usage" over "sharp rewards" suggests the industry is learning this lesson, albeit slowly.
