With PoS terminals becoming easily available at shops and cashless transactions becoming easy, people in urban areas have started relying heavily on credit cards and debit cards. However, as the use of card transactions has been rapidly
increased in the last few years, banking frauds have also gone up. With scammers looking for people to defraud, it is important to protect your card.
increased in the last few years, banking frauds have also gone up. With scammers looking for people to defraud, it is important to protect your card.
Card Protection Plan (CPP) is a service offered by several banks and insurance companies. Under this protection plan, your cards are protected from loss, theft or frauds. In fact, not only your credit or debit cards but documents such as Permanent Account Number (PAN) card are also protected under such plans. In order to avail the benefits of these covers, customers have to pay a fixed amount to insure their cards. Depending on the service and tenure, banks offer several card protection plans.
Various public, as well as, private sector banks have different Card Protection Plans. users have to pay an annual premium to avail the service. Depending on the service and tenure the cost of such a plan ranges between Rs 900 and Rs 2,100. Top banks like the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank offer Card Protection Plans. The scheme covers your credit and debit cards from any fraud due to loss/theft, skimming, counterfeiting, phishing, online usage or PIN-based frauds.
One of the major benefits of such plans is that there is a 24*7 toll-free number where customers can call in case their cards get lost or stolen. The banks will call the card issuers such as Visa, RuPay or MasterCard — to deactivate your card immediately. It comes in handy if you use multiple credit cards and need to block all of them in case of an emergency. In such a situation, you will not have to call every single bank individually to block your cards. The insurer or the bank will do that for you. Also, you will also get a replacement card at no extra charge under this plan.
This type of card insurance takes care of your emergency travel in case your cards get stolen or lost while travelling. If you have taken a Card Protection Plan, the bank or insurer will book a travel ticket for you. Your accommodation cost like hotel bills etc. will also be protected under the scheme. Note that SBI offers up to Rs 1.6 lakh hotel bills under the Card Protection Plan. Travel assistance worth up to Rs 1.6 lakh is also offered. Along with the emergency travel assistance and accommodation, these plans offer an emergency cash benefit as well.
Another major advantage is that these card protection plans often allow you to add your family members in the scheme without any additional charge. In SBI's Premium Card Protection plan, you can enroll your spouse. In SBI's Platinum Card Protection plan, you can enroll up to 4 members of your family (spouse and parents).
It is worth mentioning that apart from the debit and credit cards, the plan also covers the loss and theft of other important documents such as PAN card. In case of loss or theft, the bank will get your PAN card replaced without any extra charge. You can also register details of your passport, driving license, share certificates, insurance policies under these plans.
In case you lose your mobile phone, this plan can help you out as the bank or insurer will block your SIM and will arrange a new SIM for you. Note that most of the Card Protection Plans offered by banks or insurers have a tenure of one year.
