Don’t use credit cards like this!

In a first in the country top private lender ICICI Bank is offering EMI options on any type of online payment, such as payment of school fees, credit card payment, and insurance premium payment or for anything purchase up to Rs 5 lakh. This facility is available on the bank’s internet banking platform ‘EMI @ Internet Banking’. The facility aims to offer increased affordability to lakhs of pre-approved customers. It enables them to convert their high-value transactions up to Rs 5 lakh into easy monthly instalments.

First in the country

ICICI Bank is the first bank in the country who offers this outstanding facility to lakhs of customers. The bank has tied up with BillDesk and Razorpay, leading online payment gateway aggregators to offer this facility. Presently, the ‘EMI @ Internet Banking’ has been enabled in categories like online shopping portals, insurance, travel, education- school fees, payments of different cards and purchase of electronic gadgets.

The interest rate varies between 10% and 15%, depending upon the amount and the tenure of the EMI.

The facility offers lots of benefits. First and foremost, the burden of expenditure is distributed among three, six or nine months. Besides lots of benefits are there, like, flexible tenure, transaction limit, no processing fees etc.

Flexible tenures

Customers can select tenures of their choice from three months, six months, and nine months. The bank’s website says 12 month-EMIs would be available very soon.

Higher transaction limit

Customers can do purchases or make any payment of products or services ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh. The amount will be turn into EMI automatically.

Instant processing

Customers can convert their high-value transactions instantly into EMIs while paying through the bank’s internet banking platform.

No processing fees

ICICI Bank offers this EMI facility with zero processing fees and documentation. No document, time or processing fees is needed except stipulated interest rate, wherever is applicable.

Wide range of service

Customers can choose this facility to purchase their favourite gadget or pay an insurance premium or school fees of their child or pay for vacation or even opt for credit card payment.

School/college fees payment

Probably this is the first time a bank offers EMI facility to its customers to pay fees of educational institutes for their kids. More than 2,500 schools and colleges are available under this scheme.

Top schools and colleges such as Army Public School, St. Xavier’s School and University, Welingkar Institute of Management, Amity School, Delhi Public School, Symbiosis, Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Doon International School, Don Bosco School, Xavier Institute of Management, Dr. DY Patil School of Engineering, Indian Institute of Management, Welham Girls School, AIIMS, Indian Institute of Technology, BITS Pilani, St Teresas School, St. Stephens School, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Kalinga University and many more are in this list.

The process

To check eligibility, customers have to send a SMS to 5676766 and ICICI Bank will inform them accordingly.

If you are eligible then just log on to school or college website, select payment option with ‘ICICI netbanking’ and put your customer ID and password. Then select the EMI option, amount and tenure and click pay.

An OTP will be generated which needs to be keyed in at the designated slot.

If you are paying for some other reason, i.e. card payment, insurance premium payment or buying a smart watch, you have to select payment option with ‘ICICI netbanking’ through concern payment gateway and only put your credentials.

Once the ICICI net banking page is opened you can go to ‘EMI@ Internet Banking’ option, enter the amount and tenure and proceed.

After that you will receive an OTP. Enter the OTP at the designated place and click ‘Pay’. You will get a text message once the payment is completed.