RBL Bank ends credit card partnership with Bajaj Finance

RBL Bank has ended its credit card partnership with Bajaj Finance Limited (BFL), calling an end to issue of these co-branded credit cards.

The existing co-branded cards will remain till the bank finds a new partner, the private sector lender announced on on Friday.

There are over 3.4 million BFL co-branded credit cards, which RBL Bank will continue to service and customers will continue to enjoy all existing benefits of the credit card, according to an official statement.

RBL Bank said it has been reducing the issue of co-brand cards, reducing it from 1,26,000 in September 2023 to 37,000 in September 2024.

RBL Bank said it is diversifying its partnerships with banks and NBFCs, building partnerships with the likes of Mahindra & Mahindra Finance Limited, TVS Finance Limited as well as consumer brands like IOC, IRCTC.

The bank said it will continue to remain focused on expanding its its credit card business as part of a policy of increasing customer base.

RBL Bank, formerly known as Ratnakar Bank Limited, was originally set up as a regional bank in Maharashtra, with two branches – one in Sangli and the other in Kolhapur, on 6 August 1943.

Founded by Babgonda Bhujgonda Patil from Sangli and Gangappa Siddappa Chougule from Kolhapur, the bank mainly served merchants and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Kolhapur-Sangli belt. 

In June 1943, the bank was incorporated as Ratnakar Bank Limited and in 1959, the bank became a scheduled commercial bank under the Reserve Bank of India Act. In 1970, it received a banking licence from RBI.

In August 2014, the name of the bank was changed to RBL Bank Limited.

As of March 2024, RBI Bank had a network of 545 branches and 395 ATMs across 28 states and union territories. It has 12,473 employees and a network of 1,272 business correspondent branches, including 952 managed by RBL Finserve Limited.