HDFC Bank has temporarily suspended its partnership with Apple, citing cost-to-income considerations. The move comes after a five-year collaboration that offered exclusive cashback and EMI benefits to HDFC Bank credit card holders on Apple products.
Parag Rao, Group Head of Payments, Consumer Finance, Marketing, and Liability Product Group at HDFC Bank, told Business Standard, “We have taken a temporary break from our partnership with Apple.” He explained that the bank regularly reviews its partnerships, and in this case, the cost-to-income measure no longer aligned with their objectives.
The partnership, which began in 2019, made HDFC Bank the sole banking partner for Apple’s promotional offers in India. With the suspension, Apple has now partnered with American Express, Axis Bank, and ICICI Bank to offer similar benefits, according to the company’s website.
Despite the pause in this particular collaboration, HDFC Bank remains optimistic about its overall business prospects. Rao indicated to Business Standard that the bank is gearing up for the upcoming festive season, anticipating significant growth in deposits, loan disbursals, and card spending.
The bank is also seeing encouraging results from its revamped PayZapp app, with 14 million customers already on board. Rao revealed that 60% of these users are HDFC Bank customers, while the remainder are from other banks.
